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ALL  THE  WORLD   TO  NOTHING 


t-' 


He  grew  conscious  of  her  meditations  concerning  him. 
Frontispiece.     See  page  155, 


ALL   THE  WORLD 
TO    NOTHING 


BY 
WYNDHAM   MARTYN 

AUTHOR  OF   "the  MAN   OUTSIDE,"   ETC. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS   BY 

H.  H.  LEONARD 


BOSTON 

LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND   COMPANY 

1912 


Copyright,  igi9, 
By  Little,  Brown,  and  Company. 

All  rights  reserved 

Published,  September,  1912 
Reprinted,  September,  1912 


THE  COLONIAL  PRESS 
C.  H.  SIMONDS  &  CO.,  BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 


TO  THE  BEST  FRIEND  I  EVER  HAD 


2137260 


CONTENTS 

CEAPTSK 

PAOK 

I. 

The  Gods  of  Mischance 

I 

II. 

The  Barred  Door          .        .        .        . 

20 

III. 

The  Unfortunate  Avenger 

37 

IV. 

Amazing  Matrimony       .        .        .        . 

56 

V. 

The  Beginning  of  Conquest 

83 

VI. 

Millionaires  and  Mines 

"5 

VII. 

Concerning  Tomcod 

133 

VIII. 

Captain  of  His  Soul     .       .       .       . 

ISO 

IX. 

Bludgeonings  of  Chance     . 

179 

X. 

A  Ticket  to  Utopia 

199 

XL 

Under  Queensberry  Rules 

212 

XIL 

Chester  Meets  His  Lady    . 

234 

XIII. 

His  Resurrection    .... 

246 

XIV. 

The  Kingdom  of  Love  . 

.     280 

XV. 

Louis  Seize  Again    .... 

.     300 

XVI. 

The  Business  Man 

.     31S 

XVII. 

War  Declared          .... 

.     332 

XVIII. 

The  Brighter  Side 

.     349 

XIX. 

John  Chester's  Offer    . 

.     363 

XX. 

In  the  Balance        .... 

.     379 

XXI. 

Renalls'  Defeat     .       ,       ,       . 

•     396 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

He  grew  conscious  of  her  meditations  con- 
cerning him Frontispiece 

"  Come  out,"  she  commanded  in  firm,  dis- 
tinct tones PAGE    56 

Renalls  looked  at  the  girl  keenly;  there  was 

no  mistaking  the  flush  on  her  face    .        .      "      248 

"  Don't  let  us  quarrel,"  she  pleaded      .       .      "339 


ALL  THE  WORLD  TO 
NOTHING 


CHAPTER  I 

THE    GODS    OF   MISCHANCE 

"Every  error  in  life  implies  a  contradiction;  for,  since  he  who 
errs  does  not  mean  to  err  but  to  be  in  the  right,  it  is  evident  that 
he  acts  contrary  to  his  meaning."  —  Epicleius. 

THERE  was  tense  silence  in  the  room  as 
the  last  card  fell.  Until  then  there  had 
been  the  possibility  that  the  luck  which 
had  gone  so  grimly  against  Richard  Chester  might 
in  a  measure  at  least  smile  upon  him  and  offer 
the  chance  of  a  partial  recovery.  But  the  final 
game  found  him  still  the  loser  and  he,  alone  of  the 
four,  had  cause  to  regret  the  suggestion  made 
idly  at  luncheon  that  they  should  play  until 
dinner  time. 

Outwardly  he  seemed  the  least  perturbed  of 


2    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

them  all.  Even  Wardour  Enderby's  legal  calm 
was  dissipated  by  his  winnings,  and  young  Frankel, 
with  the  instincts  inherited  from  a  stock-gam- 
bling father,  was  openly  elated.  The  other  man, 
Billy  Osmund,  richer  than  them  all,  swept  the 
few  thousands  that  meant  so  little  to  him  into  his 
pocket  and  looked  across  at  his  friend  uneasily. 
Companions  from  the  day  they  met  at  the  pre- 
paratory school  which  sent  them  on  to  Yale,  he 
admired  Chester  more  than  any  man  he  knew  and 
there  were  rumors  that  financially  his  friend  was 
hard  hit. 

"  We'll  give  you  your  revenge  whenever  you 
like,"  he  said. 

"  There's  plenty  of  time  for  that,"  his  host  re- 
turned carelessly.     "  Have  a  drink  before  you  go." 

Osmund  poured  himself  out  a  stiff  whiskey; 
he  was  wondering  whether  Chester  was  bluffing 
or  not.  Hard  as  flint  to  most  men,  he  would  have 
gone  to  any  length  to  oblige  one  for  whom  he 
cared. 

Enderby  lighted  a  cigar.  "  I'm  afraid  you 
were  rather  badly  hit,"  he  said. 

"  You  can  bet  your  life  he  was,"  Frankel  as- 
serted. "  He  never  had  a  look  in  all  the  after- 
noon." 


THE  GODS  OF  MISCHANCE        3 

He  prattled  on  with  the  joyous  assurance  of  a 
boy  whose  play  seldom  entitled  him  to  win;  but 
his  companions  in  fortune,  older  than  he,  sat  silent 
with  a  sense  of  constraint  upon  them.  They 
both  suspected  that  Chester's  careless  manner 
concealed  disaster.  It  was  true  they  had  been 
paid  in  currency  and  not  in  checks  or  notes,  but 
unlike  them,  he  had  no  longer  any  property  to 
fall  back  upon  of  all  that  had  been  left  him. 

He  was  a  descendant  of  the  famous  Colonel 
John  Chester  of  Port  Chester  who,  torn  between 
loyalty  to  an  absent  king  and  love  for  his  new 
country,  was  suspected  and  denounced  by  both 
parties,  suffering  therefrom  confiscation  of  his 
immense  grant.  But  at  the  death  of  the  old  Tory 
the  estate  had  been  won  back  by  his  son  and 
held  with  much  honor.  The  present  incumbent, 
Richard's  only  brother,  finding  Greater  New 
York  creeping  about  his  gates,  had  sold  much  of 
the  land  to  real  estate  speculators;  and  trolley 
lines  and  small  houses  and  factories  were  set 
among  the  oak  woods  and  green  meadows  where 
the  Chesters  had  once  followed  their  hounds. 

John  Chester,  fifteen  years  his  brother's  senior, 
had  carefully  conserved  the  family  fortunes.  That 
the  two  brothers  were  estranged  was  common 


4    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

property,  but  few  had  asked  the  reason.  The 
Chesters  were  ill  men  to  cross;  and  the  mention 
of  one  brother  to  the  other  brought  a  tightened 
mouth  and  a  look  which  banished  questioning. 
It  was  well  known  that  Richard,  after  coming 
into  his  lesser  share  of  the  property,  had  been 
prodigal  in  the  spending  of  it.  He  had  taken  a 
big  New  York  theatre  for  the  season,  and  then  as 
suddenly  fitted  out  a  South  American  expedition 
for  the  discovery  of  that  apocryphal  creature,  the 
giant  sloth.  Notoriously  ready  to  gamble  on 
anything  and  at  any  stake,  his  elder  brother  had 
not  been  slow  to  trace  a  likeness  between  him  and 
that  Sir  Richard  Chester  who  followed  his  debon- 
nair  king  into  exile  at  De  Zeven  Toren  and  after 
the  Restoration  fought  for  him  when  with  the 
fourteenth  Louis  of  France  he  was  leagued  against 
the  United  Provinces. 

In  the  current  history  of  the  period  there  were 
accounts  of  this  Chester's  doings  which  seemed 
to  point  that,  although  but  a  simple  knight  amid 
great  nobles,  he  was  a  commanding  figure.  Sir 
Richard  it  was,  fired  by  the  story  of  an  unwilling 
bride  and  an  old  lord  of  Flanders,  rescued  her 
and  gave  her  to  her  true  love  with  a  dowry  which 
he  had  looted  from  neighboring  Brabant.     And 


THE  GODS  OF  MISCHANCE         5 

it  was  this  same  Sir  Richard  who  gamed  for  three 
days  with  the  Due  d'Hauteville,  marshal  of  the 
French  king's  army,  and  won  all  that  he  had  even 
to  his  estates  in  distant  Picardy,  and  then  incon- 
sistently sent  him  back  to  his  camp  loaded  with 
presents  and  free  of  his  debts. 

And  there  were  stories  of  him,  too,  which  may 
not  be  related  here  although  the  manners  of  the 
times  excused  them.  The  anecdotes  concerning 
him  end  abruptly.  The  writer,  an  abbe  with  a 
pretty  taste  for  elegant  writing,  evinces  a  certain 
disappointment  when  he  relates  how  the  knight 
met  with  a  beautiful  maid,  overcame  her  brother's 
objections  with  his  good  sword  and  carried  her 
away  to  his  manor  in  Buckinghamshire,  there  to 
live  happily  until  death  claimed  them.  "  Thus," 
wrote  the  churchman  piously,  "  may  Almighty 
God  vouchsafe  to  woman,  the  weaker  vessel,  the 
power  to  sheathe  the  sword  of  the  turbulent 
man  and  bring  him  to  a  content  in  His  grace." 

Old  Sir  Richard's  imagination  had  been  fired 
at  the  accounts  of  the  New  Netherlands  conquered 
during  the  first  war  between  Holland  and  Eng- 
land, and  it  had  been  his  intention  before  he 
met  this  lady  to  go  to  the  North  as  his  coun- 
trymen  Raleigh   and  Gilbert  had  to  the  South; 


6    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

but  with  his  marriage  his  roving  habits  under- 
went a  change  and  it  was  his  son,  inheriting 
them,  who  was  to  seek  the  new  country. 

The  American  Richard  Chester,  kin  in  blood 
and  spirit  to  the  gallant  old  adventurer,  bade 
his  friends  farewell  with  never  a  suspicion  of 
gloom  upon  his  face  or  an  inkling  of  the  depres- 
sion that  had  gripped  him.  He  sat  silently  for  a 
while  when  he  was  alone  and  then  rang  for  his  man. 

"  Collect  all  the  outstanding  bills,"  he  said, 
"  and  bring  them  to  me  at  once.  I  don't  think 
they  amount  to  much  but  I  want  to  see  how  I 
stand." 

When  he  had  finished  his  solitary  dinner. 
Meadows  handed  him  a  neat  packet  of  accounts. 
Chester  looked  through  them  carefully. 

"  And  there's  your  wages,  Meadows,"  he  said. 
"  You  haven't  been  paid  for  three  months.  I'll 
give  you  a  check  in  the  morning." 

"  I'm  afraid,  sir,"  said  the  man,  almost  timidly, 
"  that  luck's  been  against  you  lately." 

"  Everything's  gone  wrong,"  his  employer  re- 
turned.   "Why.?" 

"  I  am  sorry,"  said  Meadows,  simply.  "  I  had 
hoped  things  would  clear  up  so  that  I  could  leave 
you  more  happily," 


THE  GODS  OF  MISCHANCE        7 

"  Leaving!  "  cried  Chester.  "  You're  giving 
me  notice  then!  " 

"  At  the  end  of  a  month,"  said  the  man. 

Richard  looked  at  him  with  unconcealed  scorn. 
"  So  that's  it,"  he  cried.  *'  Leaving  the  sinking 
ship!  I  thought  you  trusted  old  English  serv- 
ants never  deserted.    Have  I  treated  you  badly.?  " 

"  I  never  served  under  a  better  master,"  Mead- 
ows retorted  earnestly. 

"  Yet  when  things  are  going  badly  you  gather 
yourself  together  and  try  to  land  on  good  ground." 
He  sighed  a  little  wearily.  "  I  don't  blame  you, 
Meadows.  You've  got  to  look  out  for  your  end 
of  it,  too." 

The  man  looked  at  him  gravely.  There  was  a 
certain  dignity  in  his  carriage  and  a  tinge  of 
regret  in  his  voice. 

"  I  hope,  sir,"  he  said,  '*  I  have  never  seemed 
careless  of  your  interests." 

"  I  know,"  said  Chester.  "  I  didn't  mean  to 
hurt  your  feelings.  I've  never  had  a  man  half 
as  good  as  you,  but  just  now  I'm  on  edge  and  I 
see  nothing  for  it  but  starvation  or  an  appeal  to 
my  brother,  and  I'm  for  starvation  every  time, 
if  that's  the  alternative.  You'd  have  had  to 
go  in  any  case  but  it  brought  things  rather  too 


8    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

forcibly  home  when  you  turned  on  me  and  said 
you  must  go." 

Meadows,  five  and  fifty,  experienced  in  the 
ways  of  his  world  and  of  the  world  he  served, 
looked  at  his  employer  with  genuine  affection.  A 
first-class  valet  and  courier,  he  had  been  able  to 
choose  his  master;  and  ten  years  before  he  had 
elected  to  take  service  with  this  young  American 
for  his  bright,  sunny  way,  his  care-free  dispo- 
sition and  dashing  outlook  on  life.  For  Meadows, 
timid  by  nature,  conservative  by  Instinct,  and 
a  slave  of  caste,  would,  had  the  magic  power  been 
offered  him,  have  become  a  reincarnated  Richard. 
In  the  decade  of  his  service  he  had  watched  the 
gradual  dispersion  of  his  master's  fortune;  he  had 
seen  the  care-free  disposition  changing  into  a 
certain  suspicious  man-of-the-world  air,  conse- 
quent on  the  disillusioning  processes  which  come 
to  rich  and  generous  men  who  start  life  with  fer- 
vent beliefs  in  their  fellows.  For  Richard,  when 
once  his  sympathies  were  aroused,  spared  neither 
strength  nor  money  in  what  he  felt  was  a  just 
cause.  It  was  a  strenuous  belief  that  New  York 
critics  were  leagued  against  the  greatest  actress 
in  the  world  that  led  him  to  take  a  theatre  and 
let  the  lady  ramble  through  Shakespeare  for  a 


THE  GODS  OF  MISCHANCE         9 

costly  season.  He  learned  when  he  grew  older 
that  she  was  not  even  second-rate. 

Meadows'  voice  broke  In  upon  him.  "  May  I 
ask  what  you  are  going  to  do.''  " 

"  I  hardly  know,"  he  returned  gloomily.  "  Do 
you  remember  my  Uncle  Theodore?  " 

"  I  do,  sir,"  Meadows  replied. 

"Lord!  How  I  loathed  that  man,"  Chester 
said  meditatively.  "  But  I'm  not  at  all  sure  that 
he  didn't  form  a  perfectly  just  estimate  of  me." 

"  I  can't  agree  with  that,  sir,"  cried  Meadows, 
hotly.    He,  too,  had  loathed  Uncle  Theodore. 

"  The  last  time  he  came  to  see  me,"  continued 
Chester,  "  I  had  just  bought  a  gold  mine  or  a 
silver  mine  or  something  of  the  sort  and  thought 
I  knew  all  there  was  about  It.  Uncle  Theodore 
had  cold,  fishy  eyes.  '  Unstable  as  water,  thou 
shalt  not  excel,'  he  told  me.  It's  a  quotation 
from  some  one  or  other,  I  believe,  but  It's  a  devil- 
ish nasty  sentence  to  have  ringing  in  one's  brain, 
IMeadows,  night  and  day  —  *  Unstable  as  water, 
thou  shalt  not  excel.'  " 

"  It's  false,"  cried  the  loyal  Meadows. 

Chester  shook  his  head.  "  I'm  afraid,"  he 
insisted,  "  that  Uncle  Theodore  was  a  truer 
prophet  than  we  gave  him  credit  for." 


10    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  But  what  will  you  do,  sir?  "  Meadows  asked. 
His  employer's  words  had  startled  him.  That 
he  might  be  temporarily  hard  up  was  no  new 
thing;  but  this  talk  of  settling  bills  and  starving, 
filled  him  with  anxiety. 

Chester  smiled  deprecatingly.  "  I  don't  want 
to  seem  to  boast,"  he  said,  "  but  I  had  thought 
of  working." 

"  At  what?  "  demanded  the  man. 

"  That  will  settle  itself,"  returned  Chester 
with  something  of  his  old  airy  manner.  Meadows 
noted  a  return  of  the  gay,  boyish  manner  which 
had  fascinated  him  ten  years  ago.  "  New  York 
is  big  and  holds  more  hopes  than  all  the  other 
big  world  cities  put  together." 

Meadows  shook  his  head.  He  had  known  men 
out  of  work  in  New  York  who  had  labeled  her 
anything  but  a  city  of  realized  hopes.  "  Perhaps 
if  you  could  buy  an  interest  in  something,"  he 
hazarded. 

"But  I  can't,"  Chester  returned.  "That's 
the  curious  part  of  it.  Meadows.  I  have  just 
enough  to  pay  up  and  then  lose  myself  in  busier 
circles.  If  we  had  played  ten  minutes  longer 
this  afternoon,  I  might  have  had  to  declare  my- 
self unable  to  pay.     You  know  what  that  means 


THE  GODS  OF  MISCHANCE       11 

—  social  extinction  with  never  a  reparation 
possible." 

Meadows  took  up  the  sheaf  of  bills  and  glanced 
through  them.  "  I  come  of  a  different  class  from 
you,  sir,"  he  said  at  length,  "  and  I  dare  say  I 
see  things  in  different  lights,  but  this  talk  of 
paying  everybody  in  full  seems  a  bad  move. 
Here's  Schmalz's  bill  for  flowers.  He  has  charged 
eighty  dollars  for  what  is  worth  thirty.  The 
taxicab  bill  says  you  owe  sixty;  I  don't  recall 
half  of  these  items.    And  there's  others,  too." 

"  Well,  what  about  it.^  "  Chester  demanded. 

"  This  much,"  said  the  man.  "  You  need  the 
money  and  they  don't,  so  why  not  pay  them  when 
it's  convenient?  " 

Chester  shook  his  head.  "  I  don't  think  so. 
I'm  not  posing  as  a  very  upright  specimen.  You 
know  me  too  well  for  that  and  there's  a  certain 
proverb  which  disposes  of  that  Idea,  but  I  have 
a  certain  fancy  to  leave  New  York,  or  at  any  rate 
my  present  position  here,  In  good  order.  If  I 
were  living  In  any  other  city  It  might  be  different 
but  I'm  rather  fond  of  New  York,  Meadows.  I've 
a  notion  to  leave  It  with  a  clear  conscience. 
There  aren't  six  families  in  America  today  which 
have  a  better  right  to  call  It  their  city  than  we 


12    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Chesters  have.  There's  something,  I  don't  know 
how  to  define  it,  which  binds  me  to  the  old  place 
and  some  day,  if  I  ever  get  back  again,  I  want  to 
live  and  die  in  peace  and  without  the  fear  of  old 
follies.  You  meant  it  kindly.  Meadows,  but  I 
must  find  some  other  way  than  that." 

"  But  it's  a  hard  city  for  a  man  who  hasn't 
worked,"  the  other  persisted.  "  Unless,"  he  added 
more  hopefully,  "  some  of  your  rich  friends  will 
help  you." 

"  A  poor  man  has  no  rich  friends,"  his  employer 
told  him,  "  So  long  as  I  was  Richard  Chester 
with  plenty  of  money,  it  was  well  enough,  but 
now  —  "  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  —  "  now  I 
shall  be  a  casual  acquaintance.  I  shall  be  Richard 
Chester  looking  for  work." 

"  Nobody  will  believe  it,"  said  Meadows 
firmly. 

"  They  won't  know  it,"  said  Chester.  "  I'm 
not  going  begging  for  company  secretaryships." 

Meadows  looked  at  him  aghast.  He  had  never 
served  a  more  particular  man  than  this  same 
Richard  Chester,  who  spoke  so  gaily  about  going 
to  work.  And  to  the  servitor  who  had  come 
of  a  long  line  of  men  devoted  in  their  several 
spheres  to  the  service  of  great  families,  there  was 


THE  GODS  OF  MISCHANCE       13 

something  almost  sacrilegious  in  his  Mr.  Chester 
competing  with  the  crowds  of  men  who  flock  to 
the  great  centres  in  search  of  fortune.  "  I  don't 
like  it  at  all,"  he  said  at  length.  "  It  isn't  befit- 
ting for  you." 

"  You  can't  sin  without  paying,"  said  his 
employer  decisively.  "  I've  broken  laws  and  must 
serve  my  sentence." 

Meadows  looked  apprehensive.  "  Broken  laws, 
sir.^  "  he  asked. 

"  The  laws  of  economy  and  that  sort  of  thing. 
I  don't  claim  it  as  original;  I  read  something  of 
the  kind  at  Yale  but  I  never  applied  it  till  now." 

"  There's  your  brother,"  suggested  Meadows. 
"  He  had  great  interests  here." 

"  I  should  welcome  starvation  rather  than 
appeal  to  him,"  snapped  the  younger  Chester. 
Meadows  sighed;  he  knew  the  fighting  light  that 
shone  in  his  master's  eye  at  this  mention  of 
John.  Meadows  had  never  been  able  to  fathom 
the  nature  of  the  quarrel  which  turned  the  two 
men  from  fair  friends  to  bitter  foes.  "  But  what 
can  you  do.^*  "  he  asked.    "  You've  no  profession." 

"  One  doesn't  need  that  nowadays,"  Chester 
returned  easily.  "  From  newspaper  biographies 
nearly  all  of  our  great  men  owed  their  fortunes 


14    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

to  luck  as  well  as  pluck.  It's  a  young  man's  age 
and  these  great  capitalist  fellows  size  one  up  pretty- 
quickly.  I  thought  of  applying  to  some  of  the 
mining  magnates.  I  know  something  of  mining, 
remember." 

Meadows  was  still  dubious.  "  You  owned  the 
mines,  sir,"  he  said,  "  and  that  makes  all  the 
difference.  I  doubt  if  any  one  would  employ  you 
in  a  responsible  capacity." 

"  Your  faith  in  me,"  said  the  other,  drily,  "  is 
not  of  a  torrential  nature." 

"  I've  every  faith  in  you,"  the  man  cried  eagerly. 
**  What  you  make  up  your  mind  to  do,  you  will 
do,  but  you've  got  to  get  your  chance  first." 
Meadows  was  suffused  with  a  gloom  that  was 
born  of  knowledge  of  the  world.  "  There's  many 
a  good  man  who  gets  his  heart  broken  looking 
for  work  here." 

"  Not  all  of  them,"  Chester  declared.  "  But 
I  don't  suppose  it  will  be  altogether  pleasant." 

"  If  you'll  excuse  me,"  said  Meadows  with 
great  earnestness,  "  it  will  be  hell!  " 

Chester's  voice  took  a  note  of  impatience. 
"  Do  you  propose  that  I  should  commit  suicide 
then."*  I  have  told  you  that  an  appeal  to  my 
brother  is  out  of  the  question,  and   since   I've 


THE  GODS  OF  MISCHANCE       15 

certain  prejudices  against  dishonesty,  I  see  noth- 
ing ahead  but  work.  And  I'm  not  sure,"  he  con- 
cluded, "  that  it  doesn't  take  a  lot  more  brains  to 
get  on  dishonestly."  He  looked  at  his  man 
shrewdly.  "  Have  you  got  something  up  your 
sleeve?  " 

"  If  you  only  had  a  little  money  to  buy  an  in- 
terest in  something." 

"  I've  told  you  I  have  not,"  Chester  said. 

Meadows  still  seemed  unconvinced.  *'  There's 
the  automobile,"  he  suggested.  "  There's  a 
bill  against  it  at  the  garage,  but  if  you  sold  it,  you 
would  have  a  tidy  sum." 

"  Try  again,"  said  Chester.  "  At  five  minutes 
past  six  I  lost  it  to  Mr.  Adolph  Frankel.  The 
only  redeeming  feature  in  the  whole  business  is 
that  he  takes  the  bill,  too.'* 

Meadows  suffered  from  an  attack  of  diffidence. 
"  You've  paid  me  very  good  wages  while  I've 
been  with  you,"  he  commenced,  "  and  I've  been 
able  to  put  by  most  of  it.  In  fact,"  cried  Meadows, 
in  a  burst  of  confidence,  "  it's  more  than  I  want. 
Now  I  was  thinking  if  I  took  the  liberty  of  lend- 
ing you,  say  a  thousand  dollars,  you  wouldn't 
have  to  waste  a  long  time  on  uncongenial 
work." 


16    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

He  paused,  rather  alarmed  at  his  temerity.  His 
employer  was  regarding  him  steadily  with  a  look 
that  was  strange  to  him. 

"  Have  I  ever  shaken  hands  with  you,  Mead- 
ows ?  "  he  demanded. 

"  Certainly  not,  sir,"  the  man  hastened  to 
assure  him,  "  I  hope  I  know  my  position  too  well 
for  that." 

"  Try  and  forget  it  now,"  Chester  said,  holding 
out  his  hand. 

Meadows  gripped  it  almost  timidly  but  his 
pale  face  flushed  with  gratification.  "  Then  you'll 
take  the  money.''  "  he  asked. 

Chester  shook  his  head.  "  I  think  not,"  he 
responded.  "  You  mustn't  feel  offended,  Mead- 
ows. I  shall  always  remember  that  one  man  had 
confidence  in  me.  It's  a  good  thing  to  know,  but 
I  won't  borrow  from  any  one.  Perhaps  some  of  my 
friends  might  help  if  I  asked,  but  I  won't  ask 
them,  for  the  same  reason  that  I  refused  your 
aid.  You  see  I've  expected  this  to  happen  for 
some  time  now.  It  came  quicker  than  I  antici- 
pated but  one  can't  go  on  living  on  capital  for 
ever."  He  sighed.  "  I've  played  the  fool  most 
of  my  days  with  eminent  success  and  the  eco- 
nomic laws  have  sentenced   me  to  poverty  and 


THE  GODS  OF  MISCHANCE       17 

work.  I  look  on  it  as  some  good  folk  do  on  pen- 
ances —  what  must  be  undergone  before  attain- 
ing better  things.  I  don't  anticipate  a  lifelong 
penance."  He  laughed  lightly  and  the  other's 
heart  rejoiced  at  the  pluck  he  evinced.  "  I'm 
even  now  peering  beyond  the  penance  stage  into 
the  future  and  I've  got  enough  conceit  to  think 
that  it  isn't  going  to  be  a  black  one." 

Meadows  knew  it  was  impossible  to  alter  the 
younger  man's  intention.  What  was  firmness  from 
a  Chester  point  of  view  passed  for  obstinacy 
among  Chester  foes.  "  My  offer  always  holds 
good,  sir."  Meadows  turned  to  pick  up  some  of 
the  bills  which  had  fluttered  to  the  floor  and 
he  was  not  sure  whether  a  suspicious  moisture 
in  his  eye  might  not  be  observable  to  his  em- 
ployer. 

"  You're  a  white  man,  Meadows,"  Chester 
cried  impulsively,  "  and  I  sha'n't  forget  it,  but 
I  wish  you'd  tell  me  why  you  wanted  to  give 
notice.  I  know  now  that  it  isn't  the  ungenerous 
reason  I  thought."  For  the  second  time  in  his 
ten  years  of  service,  Chester  beheld  a  blush  on 
the  pallid  cheek  of  his  man. 

"  Love,"  he  explained  in  a  weak  voice.  "  Love 
has  crept  in." 


18    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Love!  "  ejaculated  Chester.  "  Love  has  crept 
in?" 

"  A  widow  with  a  hotel,"  Meadows  elaborated. 
"  A  select  hotel,  you  understand,  sir,  appealing 
only  to  the  best  families  in  search  of  rest."  The 
ardent  soul,  encouraged  by  what  he  hoped  was 
encouragement  on  his  master's  face,  waxed  bolder. 
*'  Do  you  know  much  of  the  female  heart.?  "  he 
inquired,  gently. 

"From  what  point  of  view.?"  the  other  de- 
manded.   "  The  anatomist's  or  the  poet's.?  " 

"  Oh,  the  poet's,  sir,"  Meadows  returned,  prop- 
erly scandalized. 

Chester  stooped  to  light  a  cigar.  "  I  hope  you 
will  be  happy,"  he  said. 

In  his  enthusiasm.  Meadows  failed  to  observe 
that  Chester's  interest  had  received  a  sudden 
check.  Meadows  had  often  deplored  that  his 
master  took  so  little  interest  in  the  society  of 
women.  A  brilliant  marriage,  as  he  wished  often 
he  dared  to  suggest,  would  rehabilitate  his  mas- 
ter's fallen  fortunes.    He  timidly  offered  it  now. 

"  I've  often  thought,"  he  ventured,  "  that  if 
you  had  married  like  Mr.  John,  it  would  have  been 
a  good  thing." 

"  I  think  otherwise,"  he  said  slowly.    He  looked 


THE  GODS  OF  MISCHANCE       19 

at  the  clock.     "  I  sha'n't  want  you  any  more  to- 
night.   You  can  go  out  if  you  wish." 

Meadows  bowed  and  withdrew.    He  understood 
that  he  was  dismissed. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE    BARRED    DOOR 


"  Though  a  man  may  be  wicked,  yet,  if  he  adjust  his  thoughts, 
fast,  and  bathe,  he  may  sacrifice  to  God."  —  Mencius. 

WHEN  he  was  twenty-one  and  newly  come 
Into  possession  of  his  fortune,  Richard 
Chester  had  become  engaged  to  Marlon 
Griffiths.  A  year  his  junior,  she  was  a  great  heiress 
and  a  beauty  and  noted  In  a  circle  of  attractive 
girls  for  a  certain  seriousness  of  disposition  which 
is  not  usually  found  in  the  younger  members  of 
fashionable  sets.  Many  there  were  who  admired 
her  and  none  more  openly  than  John  Chester, 
who  presently  lost  what  chance  he  had  of  making 
her  his  wife  by  reason  of  the  Impetuous  wooing 
of  the  more  dashing  Richard. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Richard  was  engaged 
in  working  out  the  dramatic  destinies  of  the  lady 
who  maltreated  Shakespeare's  plays.  His  youth- 
ful ardor  was  not  born  of  any  love  for  the  lady  — 
her  affections  were  otherwise  secured  —  but  rather 
of  the   conviction   that  New  York   critics   were 


THE  BARRED  DOOR  21 

venial  and  biassed  in  attempting  to  deny  his  star's 
abilities  compared  with  those  imported  from  the 
continent  of  Europe.  It  was  a  situation  which 
John  Chester  used  very  neatly  against  his  rival. 
And,  indeed,  the  sophisticated  might  be  pardoned 
for  thinking  that  Marion  had  cause  for  righteous 
anger.  Her  impetuous  Richard,  disdaining  reply 
to  such  insinuations,  left  the  matter  so  much  in 
doubt  that  the  poor  girl,  wearing  the  unwonted 
character  of  haughtiness,  told  her  lover  he  must 
choose  between  Thespia  and  her.  Conscious  of 
no  offense  and  ignorant  of  the  manufactured 
evidence  with  which  she  had  been  supplied,  Rich- 
ard grew  every  whit  as  wroth  as  she  and  left  her, 
declaring  no  love  was  genuine  which  did  not 
cast  out  doubt. 

Within  a  week  he  was  en  route  for  South 
America  and  fabled  monsters.  He  returned  just 
a  year  later.  Twelve  months  of  hard  thinking 
and  the  written  hints  of  certain  friends  had  given 
him  a  clearer  idea  of  the  reasons  leading  to  his 
estrangement  with  Marlon.  John  Chester,  a  tall, 
gaunt  man,  with  suspicious  eyes,  listened  unmoved 
to  his  accusations.  "  Appearances  were  against 
you,"  he  said.     "  You  were  justly  punished." 

"  But  you  knew  there  was  nothing  in  it,"  the 


22    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

younger  cried,  hotly.  "  Who  knows  me  better 
than  you,  John?  When  I  gave  you  my  word  of 
honor  there  was  nothing  in  the  rumor,  you  might 
have  staked  your  soul  on  it." 

He  wondered  at  the  lack  of  resentment,  almost 
of  interest  evinced  by  the  brother  who  was  as 
hot-tempered  as  he  himself. 

"  I  shall  find  her,"  said  Richard,  "  and  tell  her 
how  you  lied;  and  I  shall  tell  her  you  are  no  more 
a  brother  of  mine." 

"  Do  you  know  where  she  is  ?  "  John  demanded. 

"  It  won't  be  hard,"  Richard  snapped. 

"  Harder  than  you  think,"  said  John  quietly. 

"  I  don't  expect  your  help,"  cried  the  younger. 

"  I'll  give  it  to  you  unasked,"  John  returned. 
He  wrote  for  a  minute  on  a  pad  and  handed 
the  sheet  of  paper  to  the  other. 

"  If  you  take  the  night  mail  to  the  South,"  he 
said,  "  you  may  be  in  time." 

"  In  time.?  "  Richard  echoed. 

"  In  time,"  his  brother  repeated.  He  pointed 
to  a  grip  standing  In  the  corner.  "  You  can  take 
my  place;  I  was  going."  From  his  pocketbook, 
he  took  a  plain  card  on  which  was  written  in 
shaky  characters  the  name  "  Mr.  Chester."  This 
he  handed  to  Richard,  who  looked  at  it  puzzling. 


THE  BARRED  DOOR  23 

"  What's  this  mean?  "  he  demanded. 

The  elder  Chester  passed  his  hand  across  his 
face  wearily.  Not  until  then  had  Richard  per- 
ceived how  ill  and  tired  he  looked. 

"  The  card,"  he  said,  "  is  one  of  admission  to 
a  function  at  which  Miss  Griffiths  attends.  It 
is  fitting  after  your  absence  that  you  should  go. 
I  resign  my  card  to  you.  It  will  admit  you.  On 
the  piece  of  paper  you  will  see  the  name  Beaulieu 
Abbey.  It  is  three  miles  outside  Charleston, 
South  Carolina.  Marlon,"  —  he  paused  and 
Richard  was  not  sure  whether  it  was  a  spasm  of 
merriment  or  of  pain  which  passed  over  his  thin 
face,  —  "  Marion  is  staying  there." 

"  But  I  don't  understand,"  Richard  protested. 

Chester  looked  at  him  coldly.  "  I  am  not 
concerned  with  your  lack  of  comprehension," 
he  said,  "  but  I  do  know  that  if  you  don't  instantly 
set  out  for  Beaulieu,  I  shall." 

"  I'll  go,"  Richard  returned,  "  and  it's  pretty 
good  of  you,  John,  after  all,  to  put  no  obstacles 
in  my  way.    Perhaps  I  spoke  hastily;  I'm  sorry." 

"  We  can  discuss  that  when  you  return  from 
the  South,"  said  John  with  the  look  that  spoke 
almost  of  physical  suffering. 

Beaulieu   Abbey   proved   to   be   a   conventual 


24    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

establishment  of  some  antiquity.  He  had  no 
difficulty  in  getting  a  carriage  from  the  depot 
at  Charleston,  and  drove  to  Beaulieu,  still  at  a 
loss  to  explain  adequately  the  reason  of  his  coming. 
When  he  handed  his  card  at  a  door  by  which  many 
other  people  were  entering,  he  found  himself 
assigned  to  a  seat  in  the  chapel  whereon  his  name 
was  affixed.  The  services  commenced  as  he 
entered  the  building.  But  since  he  was  of  an  alien 
faith,  the  ritual  brought  him  little  enlightenment. 
Yet  the  number  of  celebrants  and  the  magnificence 
of  their  vestments  argued  some  function  of  es- 
pecial import.  He  watched  the  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  and  his  attendants  pass  down  the  aisle 
and  pause  outside  the  lay  sisters'  chapel.  Slightly 
inclining  his  head,  he  could  see  them  waiting  there 
until  a  moment  later  the  door  was  opened.  And 
when  the  Bishop,  the  Deacon  and  the  Sub- 
Deacon  turned  again  in  their  solemn  procession 
to  the  high  altar,  he  noticed  that  they  were  fol- 
lowed by  a  group  of  girls  in  white.  But  there 
was  only  one  of  them  all  whom  he  saw  and  that 
one  was  Marion  Griffiths,  dressed  in  the  beauti- 
ful costume  of  a  fashionable  bride.  And  there 
followed  her  five  bridesmaids,  three  of  whom  were 
her  sisters  and  two  friends  whom  he  had  known. 


THE  BARRED  DOOR  25 

Was  this,  he  wondered,  his  heart  thumping 
and  his  brain  awhirl,  his  brother's  revenge,  this 
strange  errand  to  the  wedding  of  the  woman  they 
both  had  loved? 

From  the  row  of  people  nearest  the  altar,  Mr. 
Griffiths,  arrayed  in  the  garb  of  convention,  rose 
and  took  his  place  by  his  daughter's  side.  With 
burning  eyes,  Richard  looked  about  him  for  the 
man  who  had  supplanted  him.  He  could  see  none. 
He  could  gather  from  the  service  but  little.  He 
knew  that  the  creed  was  being  sung.  And  after 
this,  he  saw  Marion  with  a  tall,  lighted  candle 
in  her  hand,  which  she  offered  to  the  Deacon,  who, 
taking  it,  placed  it  upon  the  altar.  And  then  it 
was  that  the  solemn,  devotional  air  and  reverent 
attitude  of  the  congregation  brought  to  him  the 
conviction  that  this  ceremony  foreshadowed  the 
enclosed  life.  Filled  with  an  emotion  that  was 
new  to  him  and  gripped  by  the  feeling  that  here 
was  what  he  was  powerless  to  resist,  a  course  of 
events  maturing  thus  on  another  plane,  he  lis- 
tened half-numbed  to  the  service. 

He  was  presently  conscious  that  the  wicker 
basket  he  had  seen  borne  by  the  youngest  brides- 
maid was  offered  to  the  Bishop,  who  sprinkled  it 
with    holy    water    and    then,    leaning    forward, 


26    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

touched  the  rich  wedding  gown.  And  at  this 
action,  the  four  waiting  sisters  came  and  stripped 
it  from  her,  leaving  a  plain  white  linen  slip  be- 
neath. Then  they  clothed  her  in  the  habit  of  a 
novice.  And  while  she  lay  prostrate  before  the 
altar,  Chester  passed  through  the  bitter  hour  of 
his  life.  No  man  would  have  fought  more  gal- 
lantly than  he  for  what  was  dear  to  him;  neither 
danger  nor  hardship  had  power  to  stay  his  im- 
petuous course,  but  here  was  something  before 
which  he  must  bow  his  head  in  silence  and  own 
himself  conquered  by  what  he  must  not  resist. 
The  people  at  his  side  looked  at  him  in  kindly 
sympathy.  They  saw  a  white-faced  man  shaken 
with  those  terrible  sobs  that  seem  almost  like  the 
pains  of  death. 

After  the  Mass,  she  rose  from  the  ground  and 
on  her  head  was  placed  a  crown  of  flowers;  and 
she  was  led  to  the  door  of  the  lay  sisters'  chapel, 
where  the  Bishop  blessed  her.  And  it  seemed  to 
Richard  Chester  as  he  saw  her  pass  through  the 
great  door  and  out  of  his  life  that  he  had  looked 
upon  a  saint. 

Later,  there  were  those  of  his  friends  who  bade 
him  take  heart.  They  told  him  that  the  novice's 
vow  was  not  binding;    that  if  she  found  she  had 


THE  BARRED  DOOR  27 

no  vocation,  or  the  mistress  of  the  novices  feared 
hers  was  not  the  nature  to  become  happily  a 
member  of  the  order,  she  could  return  to  the  world 
without  incurring  any  disgrace. 

But  Richard,  who  knew  the  innate  seriousness 
of  her  disposition  and  could  never  forget  the  look 
of  ecstasy  he  had  seen  on  her  face,  shook  his  head. 
And  he  was  right.  A  year  later  he  saw  her  take 
the  second  habit  and  heard  her  repeat  those  ir- 
revocable vows  which  banished  what  hopes  he 
had  treasured  that  she  might  return  to  the  world. 
"  Paupertetem,  seu  carentiam  proprii,  necnon  clau- 
suram  perpetuam  in  hoc  claustro.  .  .   ." 

She  had  taken  upon  herself  perpetual  poverty, 
renouncing  all  right  to  possess,  and  had  accepted 
perpetual  enclosure  within  the  little  convent 
cloister. 

There  were  some  who  imagined  Richard  Ches- 
ter's freedom  from  any  entanglement  with  women 
was  due  to  the  result  of  ingrained  cynicism  fol- 
lowing on  some  unfortunate  love  affair.  Very 
few  knew  the  truth  or  by  what  name  in  the  world 
Sister  Agatha  of  Beaulieu  Abbey  had  been  called. 
And  when  monetary  difficulties  possessed  him  and 
the  years  were  lengthening  between  the  time  he 
had  seen  his  sweet-faced  nun  pass  to  her  clois- 


28    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

tered  life  and  his  era  of  difficulties,  he  grew  to 
think  of  her  vows  as  a  very  blessed  thing.  What 
sort  of  a  husband  would  he  have  made,  he  some- 
times asked  himself,  who  had  conserved  his  own 
property  so  ill? 

Until  Meadows  had,  all  unwittingly,  brought 
back  to  his  mind  more  vividly  those  days  now 
ten  years  dead,  he  had  always  assumed  that  she 
was  better  in  the  peaceful  existence  she  had  chosen. 
But  tonight,  when  a  sense  of  loneliness  never 
before  experienced  fell  upon  him,  he  thought  of 
what  his  brother's  trickery  had  bereft  him.  Why 
could  not  this  gracious  woman  have  brought  him 
to  a  fuller  sense  of  his  duties,  his  responsibilities, 
his  possibilities? 

The  mood  with  which  he  welcomed  the  op- 
portunity to  work  and  had  even  jested  with 
Meadows  as  to  his  probable  hardships  passed 
away,  leaving  him  to  nurse  his  implacable  griev- 
ance against  his  brother.  It  was  preposterous 
that  at  one  and  thirty  he  should  have  to  start 
to  work  for  a  living  in  competition  with  immi- 
grants who  had  known  from  youth  but  the  hard- 
est toil  and  conceived  of  no  existence  where  it  was 
not.  As  a  rule  of  a  temperate  nature,  tonight 
psychic  pressure  led  him  to  seek  relief  in  whiskey. 


THE  BARRED  DOOR  29 

And  as  he  drank  there  was  visible  none  of  the  ordi- 
nary effects  of  alcohol.  All  his  energy  was  bent 
in  bitter  contemplation  of  his  brother's  injustice. 
And  as  he  sat  thus  alone,  other  images  were 
conjured  up.  First  and  foremost  came  that  of  a 
money-lender  with  whom  he  had  costly  dealings, 
an  evil,  cynical  old  reprobate  who  loaned  money 
to  rich  men's  sons  at  incredible  interest.  David 
Auge's  hold  on  Chester  had  been  shaken  off  after 
an  all  night  session  at  auction  bridge  at  five  dollar 
points  and  a  triumphant  day  at  Belmont  Park. 
He  took  from  a  drawer  the  memoranda  relating 
to  Auge  and  was  looking  at  them  with  frowning 
face  when  Wardour  Enderby  was  announced.  He 
put  the  papers  away  and  welcomed  his  friend. 

"  Come  in,"  he  said.  "  I'm  feeling  as  dull  as 
ditch  water.  Drink,  my  dear  man,  and  banish 
that  air  of  worry." 

Enderby  looked  at  him  shrewdly.  The  flushed 
face  that  he  saw  was  not  usually  associated  with 
Chester. 

"  Not  yet,"  he  said,  sitting  down.     "  Later." 

He  looked  through  gold-rimmed  glasses  at  his 
friend  with  friendly  scrutiny.  Considerably  older 
than  Chester,  he  affected  the  society  of  young 
men  because  he  had  preserved  a  certain  youthful- 


30    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

ness  of  taste  not  shared  by  those  of  his  own  age 
as  a  rule. 

"  You'll  be  wanting  that  revenge  pretty  soon, 
I  suppose?  "  he  hazarded. 

Chester  shook  his  head.  "  I  don't  think 
so. 

"  What!  "  cried  the  other,  "  you  let  us  win  all 
that  money  and  don't  pine  to  get  it  back?  " 

"  I  pine  all  right,"  laughed  Chester,  "  in  fact 
it  almost  hurts  me,  but  I'm  not  after  revenge  all 
the  same," 

"  Is  there  any  explanation  ?  "  Enderby  asked 
quietly, 

Chester  looked  at  him  with  a  smile,  "  My  dear 
man,"  he  said,  "  it  is  not  considered  good  form 
to  play  for  money  if  one  hasn't  the  wherewithal 
to  pay  in  the  event  of  losing.  I  believe  in  the 
vigorous  West  they  reward  one  with  sudden  death 
for  that  sort  of  thing  —  but  even  here  it  can  be 
unpleasant." 

Enderby  looked  genuinely  concerned.  "  You 
don't  mean  to  tell  me  —  "  he  began. 

Chester  interrupted  him.  "  I  most  assuredly 
do.  I  can't  explain  this  to  the  other  men  but  I 
tell  you  because  you're  certain  to  keep  your  mouth 
shut," 


THE  BARRED  DOOR  31 

"  This  worries  me,"  Enderby  exclaimed  impul- 
sively. 

"  I'm  not  setting  it  to  ragtime  music,  either," 
Chester  assured   him. 

"  Why  didn't  you  stop  playing? "  Enderby 
demanded.  "  Surely  you  knew  it  was  your  bad 
day.?" 

"  We  agreed  to  go  on  until  seven,"  Chester 
reminded  him,  "  and  the  time  went  most  dam- 
nably slow.     That's  all." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do,  then.?  " 

"  Cut  out  cards  for  good  and  look  for  work." 

"  It's  a  hard  game,"  said  Enderby  earnestly. 

Chester  looked  at  him  plaintively.  "  Can't 
you  tell  a  cheerful  lie  and  say  there  never  were 
times  when  bright  young  men  were  more  certain 
of  reward.?  Meadows  fills  me  with  cold  cheer 
and  you  commence  to  harp  on  the  same  minor 
string.  I'm  not  proposing  this  in  the  smoking 
room  of  a  London  club  where  it  would  be  absurd. 
I'm  talking  twentieth-century  Manhattan  where 
I've  been  led  to  believe  a  man  can  get  on  if  he 
tries  hard  enough.     I'm  going  to  try  hard." 

Enderby  waved  his  hand  impatiently.  *'  Oh, 
the  theory's  all  right.  I've  often  talked  those  easy 
platitudes  myself,  but  you've  got  to  start  de  novo." 


32    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  No  prejudices  to  hamper  me,"  Chester  af- 
firmed. 

Enderby  was  still  unconvinced.  "  Your  habits 
of  life  are  all  against  it,"  he  asserted.  "  Bred  in 
luxury,  used  to  all  kinds  of  extravagances  and  the 
sports  and  pleasures  of  the  rich,  you  calmly  pro- 
pose to  get  a  job  at  a  wage  that  wouldn't  keep 
you  in  cigarettes.  Can  you  picture  yourself  get- 
ting up  at  seven,  shaving,  eating  a  tasteless  meal 
and  punching  a  clock  at  half  past  eight.'*  " 

"  That  won't  last  long,"  retorted  the  other. 
"  One  might  begin  like  that,  but  one  would  soon 
rise." 

Enderby  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  I  don't 
want  to  depress  you,"  he  said,  "  but  that  about 
rising  so  easily  is  the  silliest  notion.  You'd  expect 
if  you  condescended  to  work  to  be  taken  into 
partnership  the  next  week!  New  York's  chock 
full  of  bright  young  men  who  work  hard  all  their 
blameless  lives  and  think  themselves  lucky  if  they 
own  an  eight-room  house  when  they're  sixty.  I 
have  a  proposition  to  put  to  you  that  I've  often 
thought  of  but  never  felt  it  was  advisable  to  talk 
of  before.  I've  got  a  big  law  practice,  Richard, 
a  bigger  one  than  I  know  how  to  take  care  of,  and 
if  I  had  a  partner  I  could  trust,  it  would  be  a  great 


THE  BARRED  DOOR  33 

help  to  me.  How  does  Enderby  and  Chester 
strike  you  for  the  firm  name?  "     • 

"  What  on  earth  do  I  know  about  law?  "  the 
other  demanded. 

*'  You'd  have  to  get  admitted  to  the  bar,"  said 
Enderby,  "  but  that  isn't  difficult." 

"  That's  very  white  of  you,  Enderby,"  Chester 
exclaimed  with  gratitude,  "  but  I  have  no  money 
for  three  or  four  years'  law  study." 

"  I  should  be  prepared  to  advance  the  money," 
Enderby  returned. 

"  No,  old  man,"  cried  Chester,  "  I'm  not  going 
to  do  things  that  way.  If  I'm  man  enough  to 
earn  the  money,  I'll  come  and  ask  if  your  offer 
stands  good." 

Enderby  made  a  gesture  of  despair.  He  knew 
his  friend  too  well  to  make  the  mistake  of  fur- 
ther argument.  "  I  don't  go  back  on  what  I 
say,"  he  asserted.  "  When  you  are  ready,  I  shall 
be  waiting  for  you." 

"  It's  a  fine  prospect,"  said  Chester  slowly.  "  I 
once  thought  of  taking  up  law  when  I  left  Yale 
but  something  got  in  the  way.  I'll  earn  the 
money,  Enderby,  and  I'll  take  a  law  course."  He 
looked  at  him  with  a  kinder  light  in  his  eyes. 
"  And  I  think  it's  uncommonly  good  of  you  that 


34    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING' 

you  haven't  offered  a  lot  of  platitudinous  rot, 
miscalled  advice,  which  most  of  us  have  on   tap." 

"  A  lawyer  doesn't  offer  advice  for  nothing," 
the  elder  man  returned,  "  as  you'll  remember 
when  it's  Enderby  and  Chester.  They  pay  us 
for  it." 

"  That's  true,"  admitted  Chester,  and  was  si- 
lent for  a  moment.  Presently  he  asked,  "  Will 
you  give  me  a  little  gratis?  " 

"  Fire  ahead,"  said  Enderby.  "  Company  law 
is  my  strong  point  and  I'm  considered  an  expert 
on  bankruptcy." 

"  This  is  simple,"  Chester  told  him.  "  I  only 
want  to  know  what's  the  legal  rate  of  interest  in 
this  State.''" 

"  Six  per  cent,"  Enderby  said  shortly. 

"  But  what  about  special  contracts  f  " 

David  Auge,  money-lender  to  the  foolish  rich, 
always  told  his  clients,  when  he  had  a  particularly 
iniquitous  agreement,  that  special  contract  rates 
were  legally  correct. 

"  The  same,"  said  the  lawyer;  "  nothing  above 
six  is  legal." 

"  But  they  do  it,"  Richard  cried. 

"  They  do  a  whole  lot  of  things,"  said  Enderby, 
"  and  get  away  with  them,  too,  but  the  State  law 


THE  BARRED  DOOR  35 

says  six  per  centum  all  the  same.  And  not  only 
that,  but  it  further  decrees  that  usury  shall  be 
punished  with  loss  of  the  principal,  fine  and  im- 
prisonment." He  laughed.  "  If  all  men  knew 
the  laws  on  usury,  there  wouldn't  be  much  chance 
for  money-lenders  and  the  baser  sort  of  instal- 
ment houses  in  this  merry  city." 

Chester  looked  at  him  with  kindling  eyes. 
"  Suppose  A  borrows  a  hundred  dollars  from  B," 
he  commenced,  "  and  pays  it  back  at  the  rate  of 
fifty  per  cent.,  he's  paying  forty-four  per  cent, 
more  than  the  law  allows." 

"  That  is  so,"  Enderby  admitted.  "  What  in- 
terests you  in  this  ^  " 

"  Only  that  I've  paid  back  thousands  more 
than  I  should  have  done." 

"  We  all  do,"  asserted  the  lawyer.  "  I've  done 
it  and  most  of  the  big  financial  geniuses  have  done 
it,  too.  If  you  want  a  lot  of  money  and  want  it 
in  a  mighty  hurry,  it's  worth  more  than  six  per 
cent." 

Chester  made  a  calculation  on  an  envelope. 
"  Is  it  worth  one  hundred  and  sixty.?  "  he  de- 
manded. 

"  That*s  just  rank  usury,"  he  was  told.  "  Who 
charged  that?  " 


36    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I'm  stating  a  supposititious  case,"  Chester 
answered,  "  and  taking  my  first  lesson  at  Gama- 
liel's feet." 

Enderby  rose  to  go.  "  Don't  do  anything  silly, 
Richard,  before  you  consult  me.  My  advice  is 
yours  when  you  want  it  and  there's  more  than 
advice,  too,  if  you  can  be  brought  to  regard  things 
like  a  wise  man." 

"  You're  a  good  sort,"  said  Chester,  wringing  his 
hand.  "  And  if  anything  puts  heart  into  a  man, 
it's  the  knowledge  that  he  has  friends  like  you." 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    UNFORTUNATE   AVENGER 

"  Life  is  short,  art  is  long,  opportunity  fugitive,  ejcperimesnt- 
ing  dangerous,  reasoning  difficult."  —  Hippocrates. 

DIRECTLY  Enderby  was  gone,  Chester 
seated  himself  at  the  table  and  went 
carefully  through  all  the  memoranda 
of  transactions  between  him  and  Auge,  transac- 
tions extending  over  three  years.  Still  smarting 
from  these  recollections  and  a  natural  anger, 
strengthened  by  the  stimulant  he  had  taken,  he 
presently  found  himself  determined  to  seek  out 
the  money-lender  and  demand  some  explanations. 
The  amount  he  had  overpaid  Auge  came  to 
nearly  seven  thousand  dollars.  It  was  a  sum  he 
calculated  more  than  sufficient  to  win  his  legal 
diploma,  and  legally  it  was  his  own.  He  would 
go  to  the  usurer's  home  and  threaten  him  with 
exposure.  He  had  heard  that  such  men  feared 
more  than  anything  publicity,  and  there  was  one 
of  New  York's  magistrates   who   had   earned  for 


38    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

himself  some  fame  by  denouncing  such  prac- 
tices. He  would  threaten  Auge  with  this  Draco 
and  an  understanding  would  be  reached.  In  his 
present  mood  there  seemed  nothing  out  of  the 
way  in  the  scheme.  He  would  be  willing  to  accept 
five  thousand  dollars.  And  if  Auge  refused,  as 
would  be  not  unlikely,  then  there  should  be  all 
the  publicity  possible.  Richard  chuckled  to  think 
of  the  matter  reaching  his  brother  by  way  of  the 
yellow  press.  John  had  a  fastidious  horror  of 
notoriety. 

When  he  had  committed  himself  to  this  ad- 
venture Richard's  spirits  rose  amazingly.  But 
he  did  not  neglect  to  take  certain  precautions. 
He  was  not  anxious  to  be  recognized,  and  if  by  any 
chance  Auge  proved  obstinate  and  talked  of  police 
and  blackmail  some  disguise  would  be  profitably 
employed. 

There  was  a  long,  heavy,  mustard-colored  coat, 
owned  by  Meadows  and  used  by  him  in  traveling. 
It  enveloped  Chester  completely  and  was  so  ut- 
terly unlike  his  own  perfectly  fitting  garments 
as  to  be  a  disguis:^,  in  itself.  He  put  on  the  coat 
and  took  a  traveling-cap  and  looked  at  himself 
in  the  mirror.  Only  a  close  observer  would  know 
him.     In  Meadows'  pocket  was  a  small  package 


THE  UNFORTUNATE  AVENGER    39 

on  which  was  affixed  the  label  of  a  London  firm  of 
wigmakers.  It  was,  in  fact,  that  partial  apology 
which  the  valet  wore  for  nature's  unkindness  in 
depriving  him  of  hair  at  an  early  age.  It  was  a 
thinly  covered  pink  dome  surrounded  by  deco- 
rous fringe  and  gave  its  wearer  a  grave  and  digni- 
fied mien.  It  was  apparently  new,  and  still  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  his  adventure  and  conscious 
that  the  ending  might  not  be  propitious,  Chester 
clapped  the  thing  on  his  own  closely  shorn  head. 
And  he  saw,  staring  back  at  him  from  the  glass, 
a  middle-aged  man  with  a  flushed  face  and  strained 
tired  eyes.  For  a  moment  he  stared  back  at  this 
apparition  half  in  alarm;  but  his  mood  at  the 
sight  turned  from  bitterness  to  a  certain  devil- 
may-care  gaiety.  Assuredly  he  could  gain  access 
to  Auge  as  a  complete  stranger.  He  chuckled  to 
think  of  the  money-lender's  surprise  when  he  found, 
not  a  new  victim,  but  an  old  one  come  for  a  reck- 
oning. Ordinarily,  Chester  would  have  regarded 
the  expedition  as  doomed  to  obvious  failure,  but 
this  night  was  the  culmination  of  many  bitter 
hours  of  anticipation  and  he  was  lost  to  the  ab- 
surdity in  the  desire  to  start  a  new  life  equipped 
with  the  money  that  was  justly  his  but  held  il- 
legally by  the  usurer. 


40    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

He  watched  his  opportunity  and  walked  the 
seven  flights  of  stairs  to  the  hall.  His  apartments 
were  in  a  building  famed  for  its  quiet  and  absence 
of  the  rush  and  bustle  of  the  modern  apartment 
houses.  Nobody  was  in  the  waiting-room  and  the 
man  at  the  telephone,  seeing  only  the  mustard 
coatj  fancied  that  Meadows  was  gone  for  his  nightly 
exercises;  master  and  man  were  much  of  a  size 
and  there  was  nothing  to  make  the  attendant 
suspect  that  a  masquerade  was  begun. 

Auge  in  a  confidential  moment  had  confessed 
to  Chester  that  he  lived  at  the  top  of  a  humble 
apartment  on  the  West  Side.  He  had  taken  a 
mental  note  of  the  address  and  easily  called  it 
to  mind.  It  was  678  W.  76th  Street.  True,  such 
an  address  had  little  sound  of  poverty  in  it,  but 
Chester  knew  that  New  York's  streets  were 
strangely  unequal  and  imagined  it  to  be  one  of 
the  cheaper  apartments  to  which  Riverside  Drive 
turns  a  cold  shoulder.  B  ut  it  proved  to  be  a  resi- 
dential hotel  of  considerable  pretensions  set  on 
the  Drive  itself.  The  beautifully  carpeted  lounge, 
the  excellently  appointed  waiting-room  and  the 
broad  stairway  were  superbly  decorated.  There 
were  few  better  houses  in  the  city  of  apartments. 
This,  thought  Chester,  sourly,  was  the  poor  apart- 


THE  UNFORTUNATE  AVENGER    41 

ment,  the  humble  lodging  the  money-lender  spoke 
of  so  suavely.  There  were  many  people  in  the 
hall  and  he  passed  unnoticed  among  them  and 
commenced  his  unseen  ascent  of  the  stairs.  At 
each  floor  he  carefully  scanned  the  names,  and 
gradually  ascended  to  the  top.  And  one  of  the 
two  —  there  were  but  two  twelve-room  suites  on 
each  floor  —  bore  no  name  on  the  door.  It  would 
be  just  like  Auge  to  conceal  his  Identity.  He  was 
filled  with  a  certainty  that  at  last  he  had  run  the 
man  to  his  home.  Auge  had  always  been  unwilling 
to  disclose  where  he  lived  and  It  was  more  an 
accidental  happening  than  anything  else  that  he 
had  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  address. 

Before  pressing  the  bell  he  tried  the  handle  of 
the  door;  to  his  surprise  It  was  open  and  he  found 
himself  a  moment  later  standing  alone  In  a  large, 
square  hall  papered  In  rich  red  and  furnished  In 
black  Flemish  oak.  There  was  a  shelf  running 
the  whole  way  round,  on  which  were  rare  specimens 
of  old  pewter.  By  each  side  of  the  open  grate 
stood  suits  of  fifteenth-century  Spanish  armor. 
At  a  glance  his  experienced  eyes  told  him  that 
there  was  a  considerable  outlay  of  money.  And 
he  hardened  his  heart  at  the  thought.  There 
was   still    no   sound   and    he    made   his    stealthy 


42    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

way  to  a  slightly  opened  door  at  the  right.  He 
was  determined  to  come  upon  Auge  unannounced, 
and  fate  had  been,  so  far,  kind.  He  must  do  this 
or  take  the  risk  of  being  considered  as  a  burglar. 
Meadows'  coat  was  in  no  sense  indicative  of  a 
fashionable    prosperity. 

And  as  he  paused,  conscious  of  a  certain  irreso- 
lution, a  distant  door  opened  and  footsteps  ad- 
vanced toward  him.  They  were  quick,  short  steps, 
utterly  unlike  Auge's  elderly  dragging  stride. 
Since  it  would  not  suit  his  purpose  to  be  discov- 
ered by  a  servant,  he  moved  silently  to  the  door 
and  passed  through  it.  As  he  did  so  the  footsteps 
died  away  and  he  found  himself  alone  in  a  large 
dimly  lighted  apartment.  If  he  had  been  sur- 
prised at  the  wealth  and  taste  shown  in  the  fur- 
nishing of  the  hall,  he  was  staggered  at  what  this 
room  showed.  It  was  an  exquisitely  furnished 
Louis  Seize  salon. 

There  is  no  style  of  the  many  which  have 
marked  the  French  genius  for  interior  decoration 
more  perfect  than  that  which  bears  the  name  of 
the  unfortunate  king  who  paid  the  penalty  of  his 
predecessor's  misgovernment.  It  has  been  said 
that  this  style  was  inspired  by  the  Grecian  art 
of    the    glorious    period    three    centuries    before 


THE  UNFORTUNATE  AVENGER    43 

Christ,  just  as  that  of  its  immediate  predecessor 
—  that  of  Louis  Quinze,  was  built  upon  the  Ro- 
man art  of  the  second  century.  And  as  a  man 
who  had  lived  in  great  houses  and  amid  rich 
surroundings,  Chester  knew  instantly  that  this 
was  no  modern  imitation  but  indeed  the  genuine 
article.  As  he  looked  at  it,  he  wondered  what 
proportion  of  his  own  overpayment  had  gone  to 
pay  but  a  tenth  of  its  value.  He  was  startled 
out  of  this  profitless  musing  by  a  voice  at  a  tele- 
phone hard  by  and  he  observed  that  at  right 
angles  to  this  room  was  another  into  which  he 
could  not  see.  It  was  a  girl's  fresh,  clear  voice. 
"  Send  Mr.  Cosway  here  at  once,"  she  said.  Then 
she  rang  off  and  left  the  intruder  to  ponder  on  his 
course  of  action.  If  Mr.  Cosway  were  to  be 
shown  into  the  Louis  Seize  room  there  would 
clearly  be  trouble.  He  began  to  be  less  definite 
in  his  belief  that  this  was  Auge's  flat.  Afraid  to 
move  until  the  girl  in  the  other  room  was  gone, 
he  delayed  too  long,  and  heard  with  despair  the 
ring  of  the  outside  bell.  Escape  by  the  way  he 
had  come  was  plainly  impossible. 

Their  voices  in  the  hall  grew  louder  as  they 
approached  his  room,  and  in  desperation  he  looked 
about  him  for  a  way  of  evasion.     In  a  panic  he 


44    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

espied  in  a  distant  corner  a  tall  screen  all  gilt  and 
splendor  and  behind  this  he  hid  himself,  thank- 
ful that  Meadows'  mustard-colored  coat  in  the 
dim  light  was  not  too  markedly  different  in  hue 
to  be  discovered  through  the  hinge's  chink.  The 
possessor  of  the  most  unusual  amount  of  savoir 
faire  might  be  pardoned  the  reasonable  flurry- 
in  which  Richard  Chester  found  himself.  Sud- 
denly stripped  of  his  excuse  to  be  in  the  building 
at  all  and  face  to  face  with  an  exposure  which 
must  inevitably  lead  to  the  police  station  and  the 
glare  of  the  yellow  journals,  he  chose  what  seemed 
at  the  moment  the  only  means  of  safety.  He  was 
no  longer  a  believer  in  his  destiny.  Fortune,  he 
ruminated  from  his  retreat,  was  behaving  meanly. 

When  the  door  opened  there  entered  a  white- 
haired  old  man  carrying  in  his  hand  a  leathern 
portfolio.  Chester  prayed  fervently  that  he  would 
betake  himself  to  the  other  apartment  wherein 
was  the  telephone,  but  he  sank  into  a  near-by 
chair,  evincing  fatigue,  rising  a  minute  later  to 
greet  the  girl  who  had  spoken  over  the  telephone. 
While  she  was  standing  Chester  had  a  very  fair 
view  of  her. 

Rather  below  the  middle  height,  she  was  slen- 
derly and  daintily  made,  with  a  charming  figure 


THE  UNFORTUNATE  AVENGER    45 

and  complexion.  Her  hair  was  of  that  rare  shade 
of  golden  brown  which  owes  nothing  of  its  beauty 
to  dye  or  bleach.  Whether  her  eyes  were  blue 
or  gray  he  was  unable  to  determine,  but  they  were 
large  and  fringed  with  black  lashes,  and  she  was 
worthy  of  the  word  lovely.  Chester  was  not  one 
of  the  men  who  are  ignorant  of  the  costumes  of 
women.  He  had  found  out  years  before  that 
women  do  not  covet  a  blind  admiration  for  their 
costumes  on  the  part  of  men,  but  appreciate  a 
trained  and  intelligent  appreciation;  and  he  never 
made  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  a  simple 
gown  must  be  an  inexpensive  one.  This  girl  wore 
a  tunic  of  lace  over  a  robe  of  light  blue  silk;  and 
lace,  as  he  knew,  might  represent  enormous  value. 

"  I'm  immensely  relieved  that  you  are  here," 
she  said,  shaking  the  old  man's  hand.  "  I'm  in 
terrible  trouble." 

Mr.  Cosway  sighed.  "  Why  weren't  you  con- 
tented to  leave  business  and  stock  markets 
alone.?" 

"  Blame  my  ancestors,"  she  returned.  "  Some 
women  prefer  bridge  at  quarter  points;  I've  found 
no  excitement  like  managing  one's  own  affairs." 

"  But  you  didn't  bring  me  post  haste  from 
Chicago  to  tell  me  thatf  " 


46    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  You've  brought  me  a  copy  of  that  hateful 
will?  "  she  demanded. 

"  Naturally,"  he  said  gravely.  "  Am  I  to  un- 
derstand that  you  mean  to  comply  at  last  with 
its  provisions }  " 

"  Perhaps  I  may  have  to,"  she  answered  so- 
berly. 

"  You  swore  nothing  should  make  you." 

"  I  never  contemplated  poverty,"  she  retorted. 
"  I  may  as  well  admit  it,  but  the  markets  and 
everything  else  have  gone  against  me.  If  I  can't 
get  enough  money  to  carry  me  over  at  my  brokers 
and  finance  my  Brazilian  mine  I  shall  have  to 
call  a  meeting  of  my  creditors." 

"What  would  your  father  say.'*"  groaned  the 
old  lawyer. 

"  He  wouldn't  say  anything,"  the  girl  cried, 
"  He'd  do  something." 

"  It's  fortunate  you've  been  brought  to  taking 
a  sensible  view  of  your  grandfather's  will,  then," 
Mr.  Cosway  commented  drily. 

"  I  haven't,"  she  said.  "  I  still  think  its  condi- 
tions abominable  and  I  loathe  the  very  thought 
of  my  grandfather.  Why  should  he  want  to  lay 
it  down  that  we  women  are  the  weaker  vessels, 
when  it  isn't  truef " 


THE  UNFORTUNATE  AVENGER    47 

"  Why  a  woman  should  want  to  compete  with 
men  in  the  business  world  is  equally  beyond  my 
comprehension,"  said  old  Cosway.  He  had 
watched  this  wayward  girl  go  deeply  into  schemes 
that  were  beyond  his  limits  and  bring  them  to 
successful  issues  in  a  manner  that  confounded 
him  and  his  estimate  of  her  abilities.  This  was 
the  first  time  in  the  years  he  had  known  her  that 
he  had  been  able  to  reflect  that  his  prognostica- 
tions had  a  measure  of  truth  in  them. 

"  We  can  never  agree  on  that,"  she  retorted 
quickly,  *'  so  why  argue?  I  am  perfectly  certain 
that  if  I  get  my  grandfather's  money,  I  shall  be 
worth  twice  as  much  in  three  months'  time  as 
ever  I  was.  I  have  borrowed  all  that  I  could  and 
am  absolutely  driven  to  comply  with  the  degra- 
ding terms  of  the  will." 

The  old  man  looked  at  his  watch.  "  You 
haven't  much  time,"  he  said.  "  It  is  ten  o'clock 
and  the  term  set  by  the  late  Mr.  Simon  Ellis  ex- 
pires at  midnight." 

"  I  have  enough  not  to  need  to  hurry,"  she 
returned.  "  In  the  dining-room  you  will  find  a 
little  supper  all  ready  for  you.  I  haven't  forgotten 
that  you  don't  like  eating  on  the  train  and  I 
shouldn't  be  surprised  to  hear  you've  had  practi- 


48    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

cally  nothing  since  you  left  Chicago.  At  half 
past  ten  the  motor  will  be  ready  and  we  shall  go." 

"Where.''"  he  questioned. 

She  made  a  little  move  of  disgust.  "  To  fetch 
my   husband." 

"  I  hope  he  will  be  a  good  man  and  a  true  hus- 
band." 

"  One  hardly  ventures  to  expect  so  much,"  she 
said.  "  But  whether  he  is  or  not  doesn't  really 
matter  much." 

Old  Cosway  looked  at  her  reproachfully.  "  You 
have  altered  very  much  of  late,  I  fear,"  he  com- 
mented. He  could  not  bear  jesting  on  what  he 
felt  was  a  very  solemn  business.  "  May  I  ask  his 
name.?  " 

"  I  have  no  more  idea  than  you  have,"  she  re- 
turned. 

"What!"  he  cried.  "You  don't  know  the 
name  of  your  husband  to  be.''  You  can't  tell  me 
who  it  is  who  will  give  you  your  grandfather's 
fortune  with  his  name.?  " 

"  I  haven't  the  slightest  idea,"  she  said  simply. 
"  I  am  going  to  look  for  one  and  I  need  you  both 
as  a  chaperon  and  counsel.  I  have  decided  first 
on  the  bread  line." 

Cosway  grew  red  with  indignation  and  he  rose 


THE  UNFORTUNATE  AVENGER    49 

to  his  feet.  "  Do  I  understand  that  you  and  I 
go  husband  hunting  at  this  time  of  night  among 
the   dregs  ?  " 

"  Why  not?  "  she  said.  "  And  as  to  the  bread 
line  being  composed  solely  of  dregs,  I'm  led  to 
suppose  that  there  are  all  sorts  and  conditions 
there.  Men  who  have  university  educations  and 
yet  can't  get  anything  to  eat.  Some  of  these 
won't  object  to  earn  money." 

"  I  absolutely  refuse,"  cried  the  other. 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders.  "  Very  well,  I 
must  take  my  maid  instead." 

"  It's  preposterous,"  he  fumed. 

"  Then  you'd  rather  have  me  a  beggar?  "  she 
asked. 

"  It  can't  be  as  bad  as  that,"  he  objected. 

"  Every  bit,"  she  said  steadily.  "  I'm  not 
likely  to  exaggerate  things  at  a  time  like  this. 
You  know  I  determined  to  be  a  rich  woman  so 
that  I  should  never  feel  cause  to  regret  not  com- 
plying with  the  will.  I  have  prospered,  as  you 
know,  and  but  for  the  panic  I  should  be  worth 
a  million.  Lots  of  capitalists  have  been  abso- 
lutely wiped  out,  but  I  just  escaped.  With  the 
quarter  of  a  million  that  will  be  mine  tomorrow 
I    can    weather    the    storm.     Otherwise  I  spend 


60    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

the  rest  of  my  days  in  a  cheap  continental  pen- 
sion." 

"  I  am  very  much  distressed  to  learn  this," 
Mr.  Cosway  admitted, 

"  Do  you  suppose  I'm  overjoyed.''  "  demanded 
the  girl.  She  looked  at  him  with  a  pathetic  smile 
that  touched  him.  He  could  see  that  her  pretense 
of  carelessness  hid  a  heart  that  had  little  mirth 
in  it. 

"  But  marriage  is  so  serious,"  he  said,  "  such 
a  solemn  thing." 

"  It  won't  be  with  me,"  she  cried.  "  I  shall 
just  marry  him,  and  then  give  him  a  sum  of  money, 
and  that  will  end  my  marriage  romance.  Do  you 
suppose  that  I  am  the  sort  of  woman  to  take  a 
man  from  the  gutter  and  cling  to  him.''  "  Chester 
noted  with  admiration  the  spectacle  of  her  superb 
scorn. 

"  But  your  grandfather  meant  more  than  that," 
he  urged. 

"  He  was  a  bad  lawyer,  then,"  she  laughed, 
**  for  the  will  as  I  remember  it  says  nothing  more 
than  that  I  am  to  marry.    Read  it." 

Cosway  drew  a  document  from  the  portfolio 
and  moved  toward  one  of  the  Mansoorah  lamps 
which  lighted  the  room.     He  presently  came  to 


THE  UNFORTUNATE  AVENGER    51 

the  clause  In  question  and  read  it  aloud.  "  To 
my  granddaughter,  Norah  Ellis,  I  bequeath  the 
sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  on 
attaining  her  twenty-fifth  birthday  provided  that 
she  shall  be  married.  In  the  event  of  her  remain- 
ing single,  the  said  sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  ^hall  go  to  Dartmouth  College  to 
be  used  as  the  governors  of  that  institution  deem 
fit  and  proper.  I  am  led  to  make  this  stipulation 
with  regard  to  my  granddaughter,  Norah  Ellis,  be- 
cause I  feel  that  the  independent  spirit  evinced  by 
the  rising  generation  of  women  and  their  lack  of 
reverence  toward  the  institution  of  holy  matri- 
mony is  against  the  best  interests  of  national  pros- 
perity." 

Cosway  put  the  will  down  and  looked  at  his 
client.     "  Yes,"  he  commented,  "  you  are  right." 

"  Of  course  I  am,"  she  said  in  triumph.  "  Do 
you  think  I  haven't  given  plenty  of  time  to  it.? 
And  I'm  right  in  my  estimate  of  my  grandfather. 
Holy  matrimony  indeed!  What  reward  had  my 
poor  meek,  broken-spirited  grandmother  for  her 
devotion  to  him  and  his  whims  .!*  He  left  her  half 
of  what  I  shall  get  and  then  advertised  himself  in 
charitable  bequests  to  colleges  and  things  that 
hadn't  any  need  of  them.    I'm  not  a  suffragette  or 


52    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

anything  militant  like  that,  but  I  think  that  will 
is  an  unwarrantable  stricture  on  my  sex.  Do  you 
suppose  I'm  content  to  marry  a  man  and  then 
admit  tacitly  there's  an  end  of  my  individuality? 
I'm  not  a  misanthrope;  there  are  plenty  of  men 
I  like,  but  not  well  enough  to  marry." 

"  I'm  afraid  you  are  rather  cynical,"  said  the 
overwhelmed   lawyer. 

"  Not  a  bit,"  she  returned  more  brightly,  "  I'm 
just  a  woman  like  all  the  rest  of  my  sex;  when  I 
was  romantic  and  eighteen,  I  really  fell  in  love 
with  a  man  who  never  looked  at  me,  and  I  lost 
weight  and  felt  poor  Marie  Bashkirtseff  was  a 
kindred  soul.  Some  day  I  may  meet  a  man  I 
shall  love,  but  I  don't  think  it's  likely;  I'm  very 
well  satisfied  with  things  as  they  are." 

"  I  hope  this  hasty  action  may  not  bring  sor- 
row to  you,"  said  the  other.  His  reproaches  were 
dying  and  he  could  not  but  feel  an  admiration 
for  the  girl.  The  late  Simon  Ellis  had  not  been 
of  a  lovable  nature. 

"  One  never  knows,"  she  admitted  with  philo- 
sophical calmness.  "  But  meanwhile  your  supper 
awaits  you." 

"  I  don't  like  it,"  he  muttered,  "  it's  so  irregu- 
lar." 


THE  UNFORTUNATE  AVENGER    53 

"  Not  a  bit,"  she  corrected.  "  It's  all  en  regie. 
Dr.  Plumm,  the  hotel  chaplain  —  the  man  who 
marries  more  people  in  haste  than  any  other 
living  chaplain  —  is  at  my  disposal  till  midnight, 
and  the  whole  thing  is  arranged.  Now,  my  dear, 
good  man,  to  your  well  earned  meal." 

From  his  hiding  place  Chester  watched  the 
girl  link  her  arm  within  the  old  man's  and  pass 
out  of  sight.  It  was  his  Heaven-sent  opportunity 
to  efface  himself,  and  when  he  was  assured  that 
the  twain  had  gone,  he  crept  into  the  open.  But 
Meadows'  heavy  trailing  coat  caught  the  base 
of  the  screen  and  a  crash  was  only  averted  by  his 
catching  the  thing  and  replacing  it.  And  it  was 
with  this  he  was  occupied  when  footsteps  were 
heard  and  he  crept  back  into  security  just  as  the 
girl  re-entered  the  room. 

So  near  to  him  she  sat  that  he  could  see  how 
tired  she  looked,  and  now  that  she  was  supposedly 
alone,  so  anxious.  His  position  was  almost  intol- 
erable. Every  instinct  of  his  nature  revolted 
against  the  unwitting  sight  of  a  woman  in  distress. 
He  had  divined  with  far  more  readinesss  than  the 
elder  man  with  what  fierceness  she  must  have 
battled  and  how  tragic  was  the  loss  which  made 
her  submit  to  the  conditions  of  a  legacy  w-hich 


54    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

she  regarded  as  intolerable.  And  Richard  Ches- 
ter's heart  ever  went  out  to  a  good  loser.  There 
was  to  him  something  almost  nobler  in  bravely 
accepting  defeat  than  in  the  gaining  of  contests. 
In  other  ages  the  Chesters  had  gone  gaily  to  the 
tourney  to  defend  the  beauty  and  fame  of  their 
ladies.  And  never  in  his  life  had  his  ready  sym- 
pathy been  so  instantly  captured  as  by  the  ex- 
quisite girl  sitting  not  a  yard  from  him. 

He  was  utterly  without  plans  as  to  what  he 
must  do.  To  hear  more  of  her  private  history 
seemed  black  dishonor;  to  disclose  himself  spelled 
disgrace.  It  would  be  safer,  he  concluded  pres- 
ently, to  wait  until  she  and  Cosway  were  gone 
and  then  make  a  dash  for  the  door.  He  was  afraid 
from  so  short  a  distance  that  she  must  hear  his 
breathing,  and  he  peered  anxiously  through  the 
crack  to  see  what  were  her  immediate  plans.  And 
what  might  have  been  Richard  Chester's  ultimate 
fate  if  he  had  pursued  this  plan  and  crept  unob- 
served into  the  night  are  but  idle  conjecture.  He 
looked  upon  a  woman's  tears  as  many  a  man  be- 
fore him,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped,  for  the  chivalry  of 
his  sex,  many  a  man  after  him;  his  prearranged 
schemes  came  to  naught,  and  what  the  romantic 
call   by  such   names   as   Providence   and   destiny 


THE  UNFORTUNATE  AVENGER    55 

stood  by  him  and  took  command  of  the  situation. 
Richard  saw  that  she  was  crying  softly.  Down 
the  exquisite  oval  of  her  cheeks  the  tears  rolled 
rapidly.  It  filled  him  with  an  emotion  so  poign- 
ant that  he  clenched  his  hands  and  bit  his  lips 
to  prevent  his  uttering  an  exclamation.  And  as 
he  did  so  his  hand  struck  the  screen. 


CHAPTER   IV 


AMAZING    MATRIMONY 


"  The  sense  of  shame  is  to  a  man  of  great  importance.  When  one 
is  ashamed  of  having  been  without  shame,  he  will  afterwards  not 
have  occasion  for  shame."  —  Mencius. 

INSTANTLY  the  girl  sprang  to  her  feet  and 
came  forward  and  saw  him  crouching  in 
mustard-hued    shame  in  a  shadowy  corner. 

"  Come  out,"  she  commanded  in  firm,  distinct 
tones. 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life,  Chester  did  not 
care  to  look  a  woman  in  the  eye. 

"  What  were  you  doing  there.''  "  she  demanded. 

"  It  was  a  mistake,"  he  said  lamely.  "  I  came 
to  the  wrong  apartment." 

"  Innocent  men  don't  hide  in  corners,"  she 
snapped.  "  What  did  you  come  for.'' "  There  was 
a  veiled  threat  in  her  voice.  "  It  would  be  better 
to  tell  the  truth." 

He  recovered  his  balance  in  a  measure  and 
spoke  more  easily,     "  What  I  said  was  true,"  he 


/»", 


"  Come   out,"   she   commanded   in  firm,   distinct   tones. 
Page  56. 


AMAZING   MATRIMONY  57 

asserted.  "  Let  me  join  my  apologies  to  my 
excuse." 

"  I  think,"  she  said  slowly,  "  if  you  knew  how 
much  appearances  were  against  you,  you  would 
not  try  to  brazen  this  out." 

"  But,  my  dear  lady,"  he  protested,  "  I'm  tell- 
ing the  simple  truth.  The  very  halting  of  the 
narrative  should  convince  you  of  that.  Only  a 
lie  needs  to  be  plausible." 

She  frowned  for  a  moment  and  then  turned  on 
him  with  angry  eyes.  "  Perhaps  you  are  a  jour- 
nalist.'' "  she  cried. 

"  Nothing  half  so  useful,"  he  made  answer. 
He  had  recovered  his  imperturbable  good  humor 
again.  "  I  assure  you  I  am  neither  journalist 
nor  detective.  I'm  merely  the  victim  of  a  mis- 
take.    My  error  consists  in  being  found  out." 

"  No  doubt,"  she  said  drily.  "  I  imagine  that 
is  the  worst  thing  that  can  befall  gentlemen  of 
your    profession." 

"  My  profession.?  "  he  echoed. 

"  Can  you  expect  me  to  believe  you  are  here 
for  any  honest  purpose.'*" 

Nobody  had  ever  infused  such  scorn  in  a  speech 
to  him  as  this  slim  girl,  and  he  felt  himself  flushing. 
To  be  mistaken  for  a  second-story  man! 


58    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I'm  not  so  hopelessly  silly  as  to  Imagine  you  came 
in  by  accident  and  concealed  yourself  ingenuously." 

"  It  certainly  does  sound  a  silly  excuse,  doesn't 
it?"  he  observed  meditatively.  "I  wouldn't 
believe  it  for  a  moment  if  you  told  it  to  me." 

"  And  yet  you  hope  I  shall  credit  it."  She 
looked  at  him  indignantly. 

"  I  rely  on  your  woman's  intuition,"  he  re- 
sponded, "  that  wonderful  sixth  sense  which  makes 
you  our  superiors.  Tell  me  frankly,  do  I  look  like 
a   burglar."*  " 

Chester  was  not  a  vain  man,  but  he  knew  him- 
self as  possessing  youth,  health  and  a  frank  bear- 
ing, not  habitually  seen  on  criminal  countenances. 
He  had  always  made  friends  easily  and  he  was 
sure  this  girl  would  see  that  he  was  no  low  ruffian 
intent  on  larceny. 

The  girl  looked  at  him  critically.  She  saw  a 
tall,  red  faced,  elderly  man  wearing  but  little 
hair  on  a  polished  dome.  Richard's  eyes  fell 
before  her  cold  glances.  "  Really,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  you  make  me  nervous.  I'm  only  asking  you 
to  assure  me  that  I  haven't  the  physiognomy 
of  the  crook." 

"  I  detect,"  she  said,  "  no  redeeming  features 
whatsoever." 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  59 

"  If  I'm  prejudged,"  he  said,  "  no  purpose  is 
served  by  talking.  I  can  only  repeat  that  I  came 
to  a  wrong  address  and  concealed  myself  stupidly 
rather  than  own  up." 

She  looked  at  him  with  less  hostile  eyes.  His 
voice,  low-pitched  and  pleasant,  attracted  her, 
but  she  stifled  this  feeling  and  wondered  what 
had  best  be  done.  Ordinarily  —  since  she  shared 
no  maudlin  sympathy  with  the  criminal  classes 
—  she  would  have  summoned  a  policeman.  But 
her  cheeks  burned  when  she  reflected  that  he 
must  have  overheard  the  whole  of  her  conversa- 
tion with  Mr.  Cosway.  It  would  not  need  an 
intelligence  above  the  normal  to  see  in  this  a  story 
which  might  be  sold  with  profit  to  competing 
editors.  The  clipping  bureau  to  which  she  sub- 
scribed sent  her  every  morning  what  balked 
journalists  sent  out  to  get  a  story  at  any  price 
had  to  say  of  her.  It  was  notorious  that  even  the 
mildest  of  journalists,  when  he  was  denied  entrance 
to  his  victim  with  scorn  and  contumely,  evolved 
from  his  subliminal  self  details  which  did  not 
flatter.  She  had  been  variously  described  as  a 
man-hater,  a  neurasthenic,  a  superwoman  and 
a  stock  gambler  who  lost  badly.  How  the  special 
story  and  rewrite  men  would  pound  their  type- 


60    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

writers  in  fierce  glee  to  get  such  a  story!  She 
could  see  herself  cartooned  as  the  bread-line 
bride  and  laughed  at,  the  continent  over.  A  sense 
of  humor  —  that  attribute  denied  one's  enemies 
—  deserted  her.  There  was  no  glimmer  of  bright- 
ness in  the  whole  wretched  episode.  She  looked 
at  him  with  a  distaste  that  was  not  pleasant. 

"  What  will  you  do  if  I  let  you  go.^  "  she  asked. 

"  Depart  with  speed,"  he  retorted,  "  and  turn 
out  my  pockets  to  show  my  innocence." 

Mr.  Cosway's  heavy  tread  was  heard  and  a 
moment  later  he  looked  into  the  room,  withdraw- 
ing directly  he  saw  that  his  client  was  engaged. 
The  sight  of  him  brought  back  to  the  girl  the 
purpose  for  which  he  had  come,  a  purpose  which 
the  excitement  of  her  encounter  with  Chester 
had  banished.  And  Chester,  still  looking  at  her, 
wondered  why,  without  apparent  reason,  she 
should  cast  down  her  brilliant  eyes  and  blush  like 
a  schoolgirl.  He  could  not  guess  her  feverish 
anxiety  to  believe  his  improbable  story. 

"Whom  did  you  expect  to  meet  here.''"  she 
demanded. 

"  His  name  is  David  Auge." 

"  No  one  of  that  name  lives  here,"  she  re- 
turned,  disappointed. 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  61 

"  It's  the  address  he  gave  me,"  said  Chester. 

"  Come  with  me  to  the  telephone,"  she  com- 
manded. Obediently  he  followed  her  into  the 
adjoining  room  and  watched  while  she  called 
up  "  information."  Information  was  in  a  docile 
mood  and  vouchsafed  that  Auge's  address  was 
678  W.   176th  Street. 

"  I  wonder  if  you  are  telling  the  truth,"  she 
murmured. 

"  It's  a  day  of  mistakes  for  me,"  he  returned 
gloomily. 

"  What  did  you  want  with  him.'' "  she  de- 
manded suddenly. 

"  I  wanted  a  reckoning,"  he  declared,  his  man- 
ner changed. 

She  motioned  him  to  a  seat  and  took  another 
opposite.  "  I  am  not  justified  in  letting  you  go 
until  I  have  some  corroboration  of  this.  If  you 
care  to  explain  in  any  way  I  may  think  differ- 
ently." 

"  He's  a  money-lender,"  explained  Chester, 
"  and  he  has  charged  me  outrageously  illegal  in- 
terest and  I  was  going  —  "  he  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment, "  I  was  going  to  suggest  that  he  return 
it." 

"How?"   she   asked,' 


62    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

He  smiled  at  her  judicial  manner.  It  consorted 
so  111  with  the  daintiness  of  her  appearance. 

He  hesitated  a  moment.  "  I  hardly  know,"  he 
admitted;  "  it  all  depended  on  how  he  received 
me. 

"  Then  you  may  have  been  prevented  from 
committing  a  crime,"  she  asserted.  "  It's  very 
fortunate  you  made  this  mistake." 

"  Perhaps,"  he  assented  dubiously,  "  if  I  am 
allowed  to  depart  I  may  think  so,  but  at  present 
I  don't  quite  understand  what  your  plans  are." 

Again  there  was  the  transient  blush  for  which 
he  could  not  account.  "  I  want  you  to  clear 
yourself,"  she  said.  "  I  want  to  feel  perfectly  easy 
in  my  conscience  at  letting  you  go." 

"  I  hope  that  won't  be  difficult,"  he  returned. 
Her  manner  had  become  so  gracious  that  he  felt 
she  understood  and  condoned  the  mood  which 
had  led  him  to  the  wrong  house.  It  was  very 
charming  of  her  not  to  have  had  hysteria  and 
summoned  police  aid.  And  she  looked  exceedingly 
attractive  in  her  tunic  of  point  de  Venice  a  reseau. 

"  I  suppose  you  were  hard  up.''  "  she  hinted. 

"  Horribly  so,"  he  smiled  back  at  her.  "  In 
fact  I  was  so  miserable  about  it  that  I  determined 
on  what  now  seems  a  very  silly  scheme." 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  63 

"  These  wretched  money-lenders  do  a  great 
deal  of  harm,"  she  said.  "  One  hears  often  of 
how  they  exact  huge  interest  because  they  know 
men  in  offices  or  stores  are  afraid  of  their  employ- 
ers learning  of  it." 

"  That's  very  true,"  he  agreed. 

She  looked  at  him  keenly.  "  I  suppose  that's 
how  it  was  with  you  ?  " 

He  hesitated;  it  would  serve  no  good  purpose 
to  explain  that  he  was  not  of  those  fearing  em- 
ployers'  anger. 

"  Something  like  it,"  he  admitted. 

"  It  is  grossly  unfair,"  she  exclaimed,  "  the 
wives  and  families  suffer  so.  This  must  distress 
your  wife  very  much." 

"  Thank  God,"  he  cried  with  a  fervor  she  could 
hardly  doubt,  "  I  never  took  to  myself  a  wife." 

"  Have  you  any  work,  any  permanent  work.?  " 
she  demanded. 

"  Not  yet,"  he  returned.  "  Tomorrow  I  set 
forth  to  conquer  the  world." 

She  looked  at  his  thinning  locks  for  a  moment. 
"  It's  the  metier  of  young  men." 

"  It  certainly  is,"  he  agreed  heartily,  unaware 
of  the  extra  years  he  was  supposed  to  carry. 
"  And  I'm  not  so  old  after  all."     Meadows'  de- 


64    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

corous  wig  was  forgotten.  It  rested  snugly  on  his 
well-shaped  head,  no  super-incumbent  weight  to 
remind  him  of  it.  He  was  betrayed  by  her  in- 
terest into  a  certain  boyish  frankness.  "  Of 
course,"  he  added,  "  I'm  not  expecting  to  do  any- 
thing wonderful  at  first." 

"But  one  needs  money,  doesn't  one.?"  she 
asked. 

He  warmed  to  her  for  the  kindly  interest  dis- 
played. It  was  delightful  to  sit  talking  to  a 
beautiful  woman  instead  of  going  —  as  he  had 
confidently  expected  five  minutes  before  —  into 
the  night,  with  gyves  upon  his  wrist  like  the  luck- 
less Eugene  Aram. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders.       I  must  make  it." 

"  But  your  relatives,"  she  objected,  "  they  will 
help.?" 

*'  I  have  none,"  he  told  her,  eliminating  his 
brother.  "  I  am  a  waif  and  stray  with  nothing 
but   hope." 

She  regarded  this  elderly  waif  with  some  satis- 
faction. The  Gods  of  Chance  had  brought  this 
naif  world-conqueror  to  her  at  a  time  when  he 
was  needed.  And  Richard  felt  the  unusual  desire 
to  become  strangely  confidential  but  checked  him- 
self;   he  must  not  trespass  upon  her  kindness. 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  65 

"  Am  I  allowed  to  go?  "  he  asked,  rising.  And 
even  as  he  added  it,  it  seemed  that  the  look  of 
interest  died  from  her  face.  There  gazed  at  him 
instead  a  rather  haughty-looking  woman  with 
cold  eyes. 

"  Not  yet,"  she  said. 

"  Why  not.f*  "  he  demanded.  "  I  thought  since 
you  were  satisfied  to  believe  me  neither  burglar 
nor  journalist,  but  only  —  "  he  hesitated,  "  only 
a  luckless  wight  in  search  of  work,  I  might  go." 

"  It's  the  very  reason  why  you  may  not,"  she 
retorted. 

"  Why.?  "  he  asked.    "  I  give  it  up." 

"  Because  you  are  going  to  marry  me,"  she  said. 

He  looked  at  her,  flushing;  she  had  out-ma- 
noeuvred him  and  invited  these  confidences  only 
to  one  end.  He  understood  now  why  she  had 
altered. 

"  And  if  I  refuse?  "  he  queried. 

"  I  shall  charge  you  with  attempted  burglary, 
and  press  the  charge." 

"  You  are  certainly  a  very  clever  young 
woman,"  he  commented,  "  but  as  for  pressing  the 
charge,  do  you  think  you  have  the  courage?  " 

"  I  should  have  to,"  she  said. 

"  I   suppose   you   would,"   he   said,   reflecting. 


66    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  You  think  I  know  too  much.  And  I'll  confess 
too,"  he  added,  "  that  I  am  not  anxious  to  figure 
as  a  thief.  I  fancy  one  goes  to  Blackwell's  Island 
for  a  time  on  a  charge  of  this  sort." 

"  You  will  be  suitably  rewarded,"  she  said. 

*'  You  are  most  kind,"  he  returned. 

"  And  as  you  heard  what  passed  between  Mr. 
Cosway  and  me  you  know  that  the  marriage  is  the 
merest  form.  He  will  ari^ange  all  the  other  de- 
tails.    What  do  you  say.?" 

"  Call  the  excellent  Cosway  in,"  he  said.  "  I 
agree." 

Mr.  Cosway  looked  at  him  with  no  obvious 
favor.     "  What  is  the  name.''  "  he  asked. 

*'  Dick,"  the  younger  man  told  him,  "  Mr. 
Chester  Dick  of  New  York.  Perhaps  you  know 
the  Dicks  of  New  York.?  " 

"  I  do  not,"  said  Cosway  shortly.  His  nature 
revolted  at  the  night's  work.  His  attitude  plainly 
indicated  that  under  no  conditions  would  a  re- 
spectable person  know  such  a  family. 

Until  the  marrying  chaplain  came  at  the  tele- 
phone call,  there  was  uncomfortable  silence  in 
the  room.  Chester,  genuinely  sorry  for  the  girl, 
forgave  her  treatment  of  him,  and  had  no  mind 
to  worry  her  with  conversation.     The  Reverend 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  67 

Marcus  Plumm  had  run  the  gamut  of  the  denomi- 
nations in  an  effort,  as  he  frequently  explained, 
to  broaden  his  spiritual  and  intellectual  life.  He 
was  short,  stout,  red-faced  and  a  worshipper  of 
Mammon.  He  possessed  great  tact  and  con- 
stantly deplored  the  passing  of  the  age  of  domes- 
tic chaplains.  And  he  never  married  a  rich  man 
without  looking  on  him  as  a  possible  patron;  his 
silence  was  to  be  bought  with  a  suitable  honora- 
rium. Dr.  Plumm  —  his  degree  was  obtained 
from  an  obscure  college  no  longer  allowed  to  dis- 
pense them  —  had  looked  forward  with  some  ex- 
citement to  meeting  the  husband  of  the  wealthy 
Miss  Ellis,  and  the  disappointment  he  experienced 
at  a  sight  of  the  tall,  middle-aged  man  in  the 
shabby  mustard-colored  coat  was  bitter.  Gone 
were  his  dreams  of  social  advancement  thereby, 
and  he  bowed  very  coldly  to  Chester  Dick. 

"  My  friends,"  he  said,  "  are  we  ready  to  com- 
mence this  solemn  ceremony?  " 

Lacking  the  customary  ring,  Richard  Chester 
drew  a  much  worn  signet  from  his  little  finger 
and  presently  Norah  Ellis  found  it  slipped  upon 
the  third  finger  of  her  left  hand.  Then  there 
were  the  necessary  papers  to  be  signed  and  wit- 
nessed.   An  elderly  maid  servant  was  the  lawyer's 


68    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

fellow  witness,  and  the  whole  matter  was  arranged 
with  expedition.  When  Dr.  Plumm,  filling  in  the 
certificates,  heard  Chester  Dick  give  his  age  as 
thirty-one,  he  frowned  heavily  and  added  a  dec- 
ade. He  had  finished  his  work,  handed  the  docu- 
ments to  Mr.  Cosway  and  pocketed  his  comfort- 
able fee,  when  voices  were  heard  in  the  hall  out- 
side. The  girl  looked  disturbed  and  frowned  when 
a  knock  was  heard  on  the  inner  door. 

She  turned  to  Cosway  and  the  chaplain.  "  It's 
my  aunt's  voice,"  she  said.  "  Not  a  word  of  this, 
remember." 

She  beckoned  Chester  to  the  inner  room  and 
placed  something  in  his  hand.  "  Please  go  out 
that  way,"  she  said,  indicating  a  door.  "  It  leads 
into  the  hall.  Mr.  Cosway  will  communicate  with 
you."  She  turned  abruptly  and  left  him  gazing 
after  his  wife  and  the  rewards  of  matrimony. 

He  looked  at  the  roll  of  bills  and  smiled.  "  I 
think  not,"  he  muttered.  To  be  tipped  like  a 
lackey  and  then  steal  away  like  a  man  ashamed 
was  no  part  of  Chester's  conception  of  his  place 
in  the  universe.  Assuredly  his  wife  was  a  surpri- 
sing woman,  and  since  after  tonight  he  would  never 
see  her  he  must  bid  her  a  decent  farewell  and 
return  the  money. 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY       .    69 

He  slipped  off  Meadows'  coat  and  stood  re- 
vealed as  a  tall,  straight  man  clad  in  perfectly- 
fitting  evening  clothes.  Slowly  he  sauntered  into 
the  other  room  and  was  in  time  to  witness  the 
entrance  of  a  rather  stout,  imperious  woman  of 
middle  age.  He  knew  her  as  a  Mrs.  Monmouth, 
a  society  leader  of  breeding  and  wealth,  who  ruled 
absolutely  one  of  the  many  smart  sets  into  which 
New  York  was  divided.  It  had  not  been  his  set 
and  he  had  never  been  presented  to  the  lady,  but 
he  knew  of  her.  She  was  followed  by  her  daugh- 
ter Ivy  and  her  youngest  son  Ronald,  neither  of 
whom  Chester  had  seen  before. 

"  My  dear,"  she  cried  to  her  niece,  "  we  are 
on  our  way  to  the  Boultons'  dance  and  we've 
punctured  a  tire  outside.  I  wouldn't  allow  them 
to  announce  us;  I  thought  it  would  be  a  complete 
surprise." 

Her  eyes  fell  upon  Dr.Plumm,  who  stood  smiling 
and  bowing.  "  And  who  may  this  he?  "  she  de- 
manded, surveying  him  through  jeweled  lor- 
gnette. 

"  My  name,  dear  lady,"  said  the  chaplain,  "  is 
Plumm.  P,  L,  U,  double  M,  Plumm.  I  have  the 
privilege  to  be  your  charming  niece's  spiritual 
director." 


70    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Mrs.  Monmouth  looked  at  him  without  enthu- 
siasm and  her  glance  fell  upon  Mr.  Cosway. 
"  There's  the  good  Cosway,"  she  said  graciously, 
extending  her  hand.  "  And  who  is  the  other 
gentleman?"  she  asked. 

Norah  turned  to  perceive  her  newly  taken  hus- 
band bereft  of  an  ill-fitting  coat  and  advanced 
thereby  to  greater  social  distinction.  For  the 
moment  she  was  too  flustered  to  speak  but  Chester 
relieved  her  of  the  necessity.  "  I  am  an  old  friend 
of  the  worthy  Plumm's,"  he  said  easily.  Plumm's 
gesture  betrayed  annoyance  at  this  but  he  held 
his  peace. 

"  Mr.  Chester  Dick  —  Mrs.  Monmouth,  Miss 
Ivy  Monmouth,  Mr.  Ronald  Monmouth,"  said 
Norah,  recovering  her  self-possession.  Both  Ches- 
ter and  Plumm  bowed  formally.  The  former  in- 
stantly set  himself  to  capture  the  interest  of  the 
society  leader  and  Plumm  was  disturbed  to  hear 
from  time  to  time  scandalously  inaccurate  anec- 
dotes concerning  his  early  days  retailed  freely 
by  the  man  whom  an  hour  before  he  had  not 
met. 

Disliking  Plumm's  pompous  manner,  Richard 
Chester  made  open  fun  of  him  and  had  rescued 
him  from    cannibal  cauldrons   in    southern  seas, 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  71 

when  Mrs.  Monmouth  turned  to  the  chaplain  with 
deeper  interest. 

"  You  are  evidently  more  interesting  than  you 
look,"  she  asserted.  "  Pray  what  are  your  hob- 
bies now?"  It  was  the  chance  he  had  longed 
for. 

"  Chorus  girls,"  he  retorted. 

"  And  you  confess  it?  "  she  cried. 

Dr.  Plumm  was  much  disturbed  by  her  inter- 
pretation. "  My  dear  lady,"  he  wailed,  "  I  beg  of 
you  to  believe  that  it  is  not  that  way  at  all.  Their 
welfare  is  my  hobby,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to 
call  it  so." 

"  How?  "  demanded  Ronald  Monmouth  suspi- 
ciously. He  also  was  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
chorus  ladies.     "  What  do  you  mean?  " 

"  I  have  started  a  society  for  the  provision  of 
chaperons  for  them,"  he  began  eagerly.  "  Few 
people  are  so  misunderstood  as  they.  If  they  go 
unattended  to  our  summer  resorts,  tongues  wag 
wickedly.  If  they  have  only  male  escorts  they  are 
dubbed  adventuresses.  My  scheme  supplies  them 
with  chaperons  of  proved  probity  and  also  pro- 
vides free  medical  attendance  and  other  features 
which  will  interest  you."  Plumm  made  the  run- 
ning rapidly.     "  Everything  is  ready  but  a  presi- 


72    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

dent,  who  must  be  a  social  power.  Mrs.  Mon- 
mouth, you  are  she." 

But  Mrs.  Monmouth,  although  proud  of  the 
fact  that  she  was  president  of  more  societies  than 
any  other  woman  in  the  world,  had  nevertheless 
learned  caution  in  her  dealings  with  them.  "  What 
funds  have  you.''  "  she  demanded. 

"  Nothing  as  yet,"  returned  the  fervent  Plumm. 

"  That  doesn't  sound  encouraging,"  she  com- 
mented. 

"  Directly  it  is  known  you  have  accepted  the 
presidency,  they  will  come  rolling  in,"  he  assured 
her. 

"  I  wonder,"  she  told  him. 

"  I  am  sure  of  it,"  Chester  remarked.  Plumm 
looked  at  the  interrupter  sourly.  From  his  pocket 
the  younger  man  took  a  roll  of  bills  and  flung 
them  to  the  red-visaged  clergyman.  "  To  start 
the  ball  rolling,"  he  said  carelessly.  Plumm  un- 
rolled ten  fifty-dollar  bills  with  something  like 
reverence.  "  My  very  dear  friend,"  he  said,  "  I 
misjudged  you." 

"  I  call  it  exceedingly  liberal  of  Mr.  Dick,"  said 
Mrs.  Monmouth.  She  saw  in  him  a  future  con- 
tributor to  some  of  her  pet  charities.  When  a 
telephone  message  announced  the  automobile  to  be 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  73 

ready  she  rose  to  go  as  the  president  of  Plumm's 
benevolent  concern.  She  shook  hands  with  them 
all  cordially  and  kissed  her  niece  affectionately. 
"  I've  enjoyed  myself  so  much,"  she  declared. 
"  One  always  meets  such  queer  people  here." 

Ivy  Monmouth  detected  the  Chester  signet 
ring  on  her  cousin's  finger  and  seized  the  hand. 
*'  I've  never  seen  this  before,"  she  cried,  trying 
to  decipher  the  motto.  The  Chester  wyverns 
were  almost  erased  by  time,  but  the  deeply  cut 
motto  was  still  visible.  "  Manu  forti,"  she  read. 
"  Ronald,  what  does  that  mean.''  " 

"  By  the  strong  hand,"  he  answered.  "  Just 
the  sort  of  a  motto  she  would  choose."  It  had 
been  his  early  ambition  to  marry  Norah  but  she 
had  other  plans. 

Cosway,  left  alone  with  the  two  strangely  mar- 
ried people,  felt  his  presence  in  the  Louis  Seize 
room  unnecessary  and  took  his  papers  into  the 
adjoining  apartment.  His  mind,  never  adaptive, 
was  too  thoroughly  bewildered  by  the  events  of 
the  hour  to  make  him  welcome  conversation.  He 
was  an  old  man  and  feeble,  and  his  journey  had 
fatigued   him. 

Chester  broke  the  silence.  "  I  did  not  choose 
to  be  sent  away  like  that,"  he  said  deliberately. 


74    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"Why  did  you  give  the  money  away?"  she 
demanded. 

"  I  am  not  to  be  tipped  like  a  waiter,"  he  an- 
swered. 

"  It  was  money  paid  for  services  rendered," 
she  retorted.  "  To  give  it  away  like  that  to  that 
absurd  man  was  a  breach  of  promise." 

"  I  made  none,"  he  said  steadily. 

"  It  was  a  breach  of  trust,  then,"  she  insisted. 
"  I  was  in  urgent  need  and  you  agreed  to  help  me. 
I  paid  you  not  only  as  a  reward  for  your  trouble, 
but  to  feel  that  I  was  under  no  sort  of  obligation 
to  you.  And  you  deceived  me  into  thinking  you 
were  a  poor  man." 

"  I  spoke  only  the  truth  to  you,"  he  replied. 
"  I  am  a  poor  man." 

"  But  your  clothes,"  she  objected. 

"  Are  all  I  have  left,"  he  said. 

She  looked  at  him  almost  angrily.  She  was 
thoroughly  angry  with  herself  and  with  the  man 
whom  the  law  regarded  as  her  husband.  So  long 
as  she  supposed  him  to  be  a  poor  man  in  debt 
to  money-lenders  she  had  held  the  whip  hand. 
But  he  was  plainly  her  social  equal  and  she 
had  detected  faint  gleams  of  amusement  in  his 
eyes.     She  felt  suddenly  very  young  and  with- 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  75 

out  experience.  But  she  determined  to  have  her 
way. 

"  I  shall  give  you  the  money  again,"  she  de- 
clared. 

"  I  shall  not  accept  it,"  he  said. 

She  stamped  her  foot  angrily.  "  You  are  a 
thoroughly  odious  man,"  she  cried.  "  It  is  not 
often  American  men  embarrass  women  deliber- 
ately." 

"  Some  day,"  he  answered  quietly,  "  I  hope 
you  will  believe  it  is  for  the  very  reason  that  I 
am  an  American  that  I  will  not  be  bribed  to  forget 
it." 

"  As  you  will,"  she  answered  stiffly.  "  But  may 
I  ask  you,  by  the  honor  I  suppose  you  once  had, 
never  to  presume  to  remember  me  if  we  should 
ever  meet.''  Remember  that  I  purchased  your 
help  and  you  chose  to  give  the  money  away  to  a 
stupid  charity." 

He  looked  at  her  coldly  as  she  gazed  upon  him. 
He  was  not  proof  against  her  scorn. 

"  By  the  honor  you  suppose  I  once  had,  I  prom- 
ise," he  said. 

She  bowed  her  thanks.  "  If  you  will  wait  a 
few  minutes  I  will  send  Mr.  Cosway  to  you ;  there 
will  be  certain  matters  to  arrange,  I  imagine." 


76    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I  had  forgotten,"  he  returned.  "  You  mean, 
of  course,  our  divorce.  By  all  means  send  him 
in."  He  looked  at  the  girl  with  a  certain  pity 
in  his  gaze.  He  had  not  forgotten  her  tears  and 
he  could  guess  dimly  what  humiliation  this  hour 
had  been  to  her. 

"  Why,"  he  said,  "  should  we  part  with  frowns  ? 
Isn't  it  better  not  to  quarrel  since  we  are  never 
to  meet  again  ?  On  my  honor  I  have  lived  a  fairly 
decent  life,  and  when  you  are  yourself  again,  you 
will  understand  that  a  man  cannot  be  paid  for 
what  I  did.  You  will  say  that  you  forced  me  into 
it  against  my  will.  My  dear  lady,  you  didn't  do 
anything  of  the  kind.  I  come  of  obstinate  stock 
and  we  are  only  driven  where  we  want  to  go.  I 
had  heard  your  story  and  I  thought  you  the  plucki- 
est girl  I  had  ever  known,  and  if  I  helped  you  to 
defeat  that  old  scoundrel  of  a  grandfather,  that's 
all  the  reward  I  want.  I  tell  you  this  because  I 
don't  want  you  to  think  of  me  as  a  possible  black- 
mailer. Divorce  me  as  quickly  as  you  can  and 
never  think  you  owe  me  a  single  thought." 

"  But  I  do,"  she  cried  with  a  pretty  eagerness. 
"  I  do.  You  have  saved  my  fortune  and  in  return 
I've  said  some  unwarrantable  things.  I  do  owe 
you  something." 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  77 

"  Very  little,"  he  returned.  "  Think  of  my 
competitors  in  the  bread  line." 

"  I'm  serious,"  she  said.  "  You  helped  me  and 
I  do  owe  you  something.  But  you  do  understand 
that  it  was  desperation  that  made  me  do  it,  don't 
you.?" 

"  I  know,"  he  said  soothingly.  "  I  understand 
It  absolutely,  and  that's  why  I  don't  want  to  be 
frowned  off  the  stage  if  it  isn't  absolutely  neces- 
sary." 

"  And  you  won't  bear  any  hard  thoughts  of 
me.''  "  she  asked.  Her  voice  was  not  very  steady 
and  she  looked  like  a  slim  child.  "  I'm  not 
very  proud  of  myself."  She  held  out  her  hand. 
"  Good-bye."  He  bent  over  it  gallantly,  and 
before  she  could  withdraw  it,  had  pressed  a  kiss 
upon  it. 

"  Good-bye,"  he  said,  and  sighed  as  she  passed 
from  the  room.  For  the  second  time  that  night 
he  wondered  what  sort  of  a  man  he  might  have 
become  with  a  woman  at  his  side  whom  he  loved. 

Mr.  Cosway,  bustling  into  the  room,  looked 
over  his  spectacles  at  Chester.  "  I  want  you  to 
understand,"  he  said  in  tones  that  were  the  re- 
verse of  cordial,  "  I  utterly  disapprove  of  the 
whole  business."     Chester  looked  at  him  sourly 


78    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

and  Cosway  felt  uncomfortable  before  the  un- 
expected glance  of  his  eyes. 

"  I  am  in  no  way  concerned  with  your  view 
of  the  case,"  the  younger  man  said  shortly. 
"  If  you  are  here  as  a  lawyer,  please  talk  on  legal 
matters  and  leave  the  other  aspects  alone." 

"  In  fairness  to  myself,  I  must  repeat  that  I 
disapprove." 

"Then  why  are  you  stage-managing  it.^ " 
Chester  demanded. 

Cosway  looked  confused.  "  I  am  doing  what  I 
can  to  relieve  a  wilful  woman  from  the  conse- 
quences of  her  folly." 

"  It's  a  sentiment  in  melodrama  which  always 
gets  a  round  of  applause,"  Chester  sneered.  He 
resented  the  imputation  of  blame  which  the  old 
man  laid  upon  the  girl.  Cosway  understood  that 
he  had  no  tractable  being  to  browbeat.  "  Miss 
Ellis  tells  me,"  he  commenced. 

"  Mrs.  Chester  Dick,"  the  other  corrected. 

"  As  you  will,"  said  the  old  lawyer;  "  she  tells 
me  she  has  implicit  confidence  in  you  —  why,  I 
don't  pretend  to  fathom  —  and  that  you  have 
agreed  to  be  no  hindrance  to  her.  As  I  must 
serve  you  with  certain  papers  in  due  time,  may 
I  ask  for  your  address  f  " 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  79 

"  My  lawyer's  address  must  do,"  said  Chester. 
"  Wardour  Enderby,  One  Wall  Street.    Anything 


more 


?  " 


"  That  will  do,"  said  old  Cosway,  bowing. 
"  Good  night,  Mr.  Dick." 

Chester  rose  to  his  feet,  assumed  once  more 
the  dismal-hued  coat,  and  was  prepared  to  take 
his  leave  when  on  the  mantelpiece  he  noticed 
a  charming  miniature  of  his  wife  in  an  oval  gold 
frame.  He  looked  at  it  in  silence.  The  painter 
had  caught  something  of  the  exquisite  lines  of 
her  profile  and  had  reproduced  her  coloring 
exactly.  Chester  looked  at  it  and  sighed.  Ca- 
pricious memory  alone  would  retain  some  recol- 
lection of  the  woman  into  whose  life  he  had  hap- 
pened so  strangely. 

Old  Cosway,  full  of  the  irritable  impatience  of 
old  age,  wanted  him  to  be  gone.  "  Good  night," 
he  repeated  twice,  and  felt  his  anger  rising  at  the 
other's  immobility.  But  he  was  stricken  with 
horror  when  Mr.  Chester  Dick  took  the  minia- 
ture and  carefully  put  it  in  his  breast  pocket. 

"  Put  that  back  at  once,"  he  shouted. 

Chester  turned  to  him  with  a  smile.  "  I  think 
not,"  he  said. 

Cosway's   ill   temper,   roused  by  the  unprece- 


80    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

dented  events  of  the  night,  lent  him  unwonted 
activity.  "  Am  I  to  make  you  ?  "  he  demanded, 
rising.  Chester  laughed,  with  no  appearance  of 
ill  humor.  The  possession  of  the  miniature 
brought  with  it  a  sense  of  rest.  "  My  dear  man," 
he  observed,  "  why  not  take  a  reasonable  view 
of  things .f'  I'm  years  younger  than  you;  at  Yale 
I  held  for  three  years  the  heavy-weight  boxing 
championship  and  I'm  in  moderately  good  con- 
dition even  now.  I  am  not  going  to  part  with  my 
wife's  portrait,  and  I  should  be  more  than  sorry 
to  have  to  tussle  with  an  old  man,  but  of  the  two 
alternatives  I  should  choose  the  latter." 

Cosway  made  a  dive  for  the  bell.  "  We'll 
see  if  there  are  any  other  strong-arm  men  down- 
stairs who  can  beat  you  at  that,"  he  cried. 

Very  gently  Chester  deposited  him  in  a  chair. 
"  Have  you  considered,"  he  asked,  "  what  a 
splendid  newspaper  story  this  would  make  for 
the  papers.?  Would  it  help  professionally  to  let 
the  authorities  into  it.?" 

The  old  lawyer  pointed  to  the  stairs.  "  Go," 
he  commanded.  "  My  conscience  tells  me  I  am 
not  to  blame  for  the  company  I  am  in." 

"  I  quite  understand  your  position,"  said 
Chester  genially,  "  and  it's  not  an  easy  one.    But 


AMAZING  MATRIMONY  81 

have  you  thought  of  mine  ?  Here  am  I  by  a  series 
of  accidents  married  to  that  entrancingly  pretty 
girl  and  then  bidden  to  depart  without  a  single 
recollection  of  her.  Wouldn't  you  want  just 
such  a  remembrance  as  I've  got  in  my  pocket?  " 

The  old  man  looked  up  into  the  pleasant  face 
of  the  stranger  and  forgot,  in  the  sound  of  the 
even,  well-modulated  voice  and  the  sight  of  the 
erect  young  figure,  the  head  from  which  the  hair 
was  receding.  And  his  own  vanished  youth,  these 
fifty  years  gone,  seemed  like  a  pleasant  green 
spot  in  a  parched  land.  He  sighed  and  his  face 
softened.    "  It's  a  bad  business,"  he  muttered. 

"  But  you'd  have  done  the  same?  "  Chester 
insisted.    "  Wouldn't  you  ?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  I  should,"  he  admitted;  then  he 
became  more  serious.  "  But  I  shall  have  to 
tell  her,"  he  said.  "  She'll  know  it  has  been 
taken." 

Chester  took  the  old  man's  hand.  "  You  are 
bound  by  no  oaths  of  secrecy."  As  he  shut  the 
door  after  him  Chester  perceived  that  the  eleva- 
tor was  waiting  opposite  and  he  crossed  the  corri- 
dor and  entered  it.  He  was  the  solitary  passenger. 
On  the  downward  journey  he  glanced  idly  into 
the  mirror  opposite  and  saw  staring  back  at  him 


82    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

a  stranger.  He  clapped  his  hand  instantly  to 
his  head. 

"  Good  heavens  1  "  he  cried  aghast.  "  Meadows' 
wig!" 

And  since  the  sons  of  men  have  at  the  age  of 
one  and  thirty  still  some  share  of  natural  vanity, 
he  heaped  maledictions  on  the  fate  that  had  left 
the  invaluable  Meadows  hairless  and  himself  the 
sport  of  ironical  fate.  No  wonder,  he  thought, 
that  she  hinted  he  was  full  old  for  the  beginning 
of  a  career! 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    BEGINNING   OF   CONQUEST 

"  Difficulties  are  the  things  that  show  what  men  are.  For  the 
future,  on  any  difficulty,  remember  that  God,  like  a  master  of  exer- 
cise, has  engaged  you  with  a  rough  antagonist."  —  Epictetus. 

WHEN  the  excellent  Meadows,  on  his  way 
to  hotel  and  wife,  bade  a  sorrowful 
farewell  to  the  man  he  had  faithfully 
served  for  ten  years,  he  was  not  without  hope 
that  Chester's  dreams  of  success  were  to  be  real- 
ized. When  all  the  many  bills  were  paid,  Chester 
found  himself  with  an  ample  wardrobe  and  the 
sum  of  two  hundred  dollars.  What  immediate 
course  to  pursue  exercised  him  greatly.  He  knew 
that  his  knowledge  of  horseflesh  and  the  like 
was  insufficient  in  competition  with  professionals 
to  gain  him  more  than  a  living  wage.  With  a 
larger  capital  he  would  have  set  out  for  Alaska, 
where  men  with  a  little  money  and  rugged  health 
may  make  careers;  but  he  had  been  warned  that  to 
reach  this  distant  land  with  nothing  left  was  but 
to  sell  his  strength  to  more  fortunate  adventurers. 


84    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

The  acquisition  of  wisdom  is  proverbially 
worth  buying  with  good  coin,  and  Chester  found 
that  his  two  hundred  dollars  was  enough  merely 
to  gain  a.  clearer  knowledge  of  his  position  in  a 
sphere  where  no  excuse  was  accepted,  no  influence 
known  and  no  mistake  overlooked.  In  the  baking 
days  of  a  summer  that  saw  him  tramping  in 
search  of  work  from  the  Battery  to  the  Bronx, 
instead  of  spending  it  comfortably  playing  polo  at 
Point  Judith,  he  learned  that  Meadows  had  been 
wise  in  his  doubts,  and  Enderby  sincere  when  he 
advised  him  to  disabuse  his  mind  of  the  idea  that 
fortune-making  in  competition  with  better  trained 
men  was  an  easy  matter. 

He  had  dropped  out  of  the  world  that  was 
formerly  his,  without  difficulty.  Since  most  young 
men  of  fortune  adopt  more  or  less  stereotyped 
sports,  customs,  resorts,  and  places  of  exercise, 
he  was  able  to  avoid  the  thoroughfares  in  which 
they  would  be  met.  It  was  a  week  after  his 
marriage,  when  he  was  still  sanguine  and  equipped 
with  funds,  that  he  paid  his  first  down-town  visit 
to  Wardour  Enderby.  To  his  surprise,  he  was 
not  instantly  ushered  into  the  lawyer's  presence, 
but  bidden,  curtly,  to  wait  his  turn.  This  was 
little  enough  to  bis  liking;  but  when  Enderby, 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST       85 

passing  from  one  office  to  another,  greeted  him 
with  a  brief  nod,  he  ascribed  it  to  the  fact  that 
he  was  no  longer  Chester  of  Clubland  and  Society, 
but  a  penniless  struggler.  In  reality,  Enderby's 
attitude  was  that  of  any  busy  man  towards  one 
calling  idly  to  see  him  during  a  full  day.  Half 
an  hour  later,  when  Richard,  after  fuming  in  an 
outer  office,  was  shown  into  the  lawyer's  inner 
room,  his  frame  of  mind  was  not  an  equable  one. 

He  returned  Enderby's  greeting  without  any 
show  of  cordiality. 

"  I  hope  I  can  guess  what  you've  come  about," 
said  the  man  of  law. 

"  And  I  hope  you  can't,"  Richard  retorted. 

"  Isn't  it  to  say  you  want  to  hear  more  about 
the  firm  of  Enderby  and  Chester,  then.''  " 

"  Something  absolutely  different,"  Richard  in- 
formed him.  "  I  want  to  know  if  you'll  act  for 
me  in  a  delicate  matter.  It's  not  exactly  your 
line,  I  suppose,  but  there's  nobody  else  I  could 
trust  it  to." 

"  Glad  to,"  said  Enderby,  briefly.  "  Fire 
ahead." 

"  My  wife,"  returned  Chester,  calmly,  "  is 
suing  me  for  divorce,  and  I  am  making  no  defense. 
Cosway  and  Cosway  are  acting  for  her." 


86    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  You  —  married!  "  cried  Enderby. 

"Isn't  that  essential  to  divorce?"  Chester 
said. 

"  Tell  me  about  it,"  the  lawyer  commanded. 

"  I'm  afraid  I  can't,"  his  client  observed. 
"  It's  a  matter  which  I  cannot  mention  even  to 
you.  I  know  it  is  an  unprofessional  thing  for  a 
man  of  your  standing  to  attend  to,  but  when  I 
had  to  give  Cosway  the  address  of  my  representa- 
tive, I  thought  of  you,  and  perhaps  presumed  too 
much  on  our  old  acquaintance."  He  looked  at 
the  other  sharply.  "  It's  not  too  late  for  you  to 
refuse." 

Enderby  waved  his  hand  impatiently.  "  Who 
spoke  of  refusing.?  "  he  snapped.  "  It  isn't  that, 
Chester,  it's  a  sudden  feeling  that  I  can  never 
really  have  known  you."  His  was  a  profession 
which  showed  men  and  women  at  their  worst. 
He  had  welcomed  men  of  reputed  probity  in  this 
very  room  and  seen  them  strip  off  every  vestige 
of  honor  and  disclose  themselves  unashamedly  bad. 
Few  illusions  were  left  to  him.  He  had  loved  and 
lost,  and  the  Tennysonian  couplet  about  the  ad- 
vantages of  this  awoke  but  undisguised  con- 
tempt in  him.  The  best  part  of  his  nature  was 
centred  in  his  friendship  for  two  or   three  men, 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST       87 

of  whom  Richard  Chester  came  first.  When  he 
had  proffered  a  partnership  in  his  firm,  it  was  as 
much  that  by  so  doing  he  would  not  lose  sight  of 
him,  as  hope  that  the  partnership  would  financially 
benefit  him.  There  was  no  man  he  thought  he 
knew  so  intimately  until  this  moment.  He  had 
admired  Chester  for  the  supposed  cleanness  of 
his  life  in  a  set  where  too  much  money  had  not 
always  made  for  virtue,  and  now  it  was  a  shock  to 
find  that  there  was  some  skeleton  in  his  closet. 
And  that  his  friend  of  many  years  should  have 
confided  in  him  so  little  and  kept  back  so  much 
savored  too  nearly  of  the  client  and  too  little  of 
the  comrade. 

"  Of  course  I'll  act  for  you,"  he  said  at  length. 
"  What's  your  address.''  " 

Chester  thought  he  detected  a  lack  of  cordiality 
and  interest,  and  rose  to  his  feet  in  his  stiffest 
manner. 

"  He's  ashamed  for  having  trusted  me  so  little," 
sighed  poor  Enderby,  "  for  having  deceived  me 
so  much!  " 

"  He's  ashamed  of  knowing  a  man  who  is  down," 
thought  Chester.  "  I  have  no  permanent  address," 
said  he  aloud;  "  I  thought  if  I  called  in  here  oc- 
casionally, I  could  see  how  things  were  going  on." 


88    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Enderby  made  some  notes  on  a  pad.  "  All 
right,"  he  said;  "  if  I'm  not  in,  ask  for  Biggs,  the 
office  manager." 

Chester  shouldered  his  way  along  Wall  Street, 
cherishing  for  the  first  time,  hard  thoughts  of 
his  friend.  His  acquaintance  with  Enderby  had 
begun  in  a  curious  manner.  Six  years  ago,  he 
had  been  at  the  Mineola  Horse  Show  and  had 
seen  from  the  programme  that  a  new  entrant 
was  competing  in  the  class  devoted  to  park  fours. 
An  exceedingly  good  whip,  and  at  this  time  owner 
of  four  chestnuts  which  were  earning  blue  ribbons 
at  the  important  shows,  he  strolled  round  to  see 
the  new  man's  turn-out.  Long-barreled  beasts 
with  hardly  a  point  of  the  typical  coacher  about 
them,  they  were  equine  caricatures.  As  he  gazed 
at  them,  a  short,  kindly-faced  man  with  gold 
rimmed  glasses  came  timidly  toward  him.  En- 
derby had  seen  Chester  often  enough  to  know  all 
about  him. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  them.''  "  he  asked. 

Chester  had  neither  seen  nor  heard  of  Enderby 
—  it  was  before  the  wealthy  lawyer  had  made  his 
bid  for  clubland  popularity  —  and  was  possessed 
of  the  most  decided  opinions  on  horseflesh. 

"  If  I  were  of  a  nervous  disposition,"  he  re- 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST      89 

turned,    brutally,    "  I    should    go    into    hysterics. 
Whose  collection  has  been  robbed?" 

"  They're  mine,"  said  Enderby  apologetically. 
"  I  bought  them  from  one  of  the  biggest  dealers." 

"That's  nothing,"  said  Chester.  "They'll 
sell  you  Percherons  and  call  them  polo  ponies, 
if  you  don't  know  the  difference.  Called  these 
true  to  type  English  coach  horses,  I  suppose?  " 

"  He  did,"  admitted  the  other,  now  thoroughly 
uncomfortable,  "  and  my  man,  who  came  well 
recommended,  said  they  were  too." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  Chester,  who  had  little 
pity  for  men  deceived  so  obviously,  "  did  you  ever 
reflect  that  your  man  might  have  got  as  much  in 
commission  as  you  would  pay  him  in  six  months? 
I'm  in  the  same  class  as  you  —  park  fours  —  and 
I've  nothing  to  fear  from  your  exhibit,  but  if  you 
don't  want  to  be  laughed  at,  just  withdraw  them." 

"  What  shall  I  do?  "  asked  Enderby,  shorn  of 
his  hopes. 

Chester  looked  them  over  critically.  "  They 
have  their  good  points,"  he  conceded,  "  and  you 
needn't  give  them  away,  but  as  a  matched  four 
they're  impossible.  If  you  want  to  exhibit, 
buy  others." 

"  How  can  I?  "  demanded  the  lawyer,  anxiously. 


90    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Chester  took  his  visiting  card,  and  scribbled  on 
it  the  name  of  a  dealer. 

"  Tell  him  if  he  doesn't  fix  you  up  with  a  team 
I  should  be  proud  to  own,  he'll  get  no  more  busi- 
ness with  me." 

Enderby  had  been  absurdly  grateful  to  Richard 
for  this  and  had  later  become  an  intimate  friend. 
And  it  was  of  this  incident  that  Chester  thought 
as  he  made  his  way  back  to  his  room.  It  spurred 
him  to  a  new  ambition.  He  banished  a  legal 
future  and  thought  more  of  that  rich,  bleak 
Northwest  where  he  might  found  a  fortune  and 
return  to  those  habits  of  life  he  even  now  began 
to  miss  exceedingly. 

He  thought  he  could  see  in  Enderby's  manner 
an  expression  of  disbelief  in  his  powers  to  make 
his  way.  He  gritted  his  teeth  and  swore  that  to 
nobody  would  he  owe  gratitude  for  help.  It 
should  never  be  his  lot  to  come  with  hard  luck 
stories  to  old  friends.  It  was  an  admirable  reso- 
lution, but  it  left  him  still  hungry  and  he  made  his 
way  to  the  Astor  Library,  there  to  plan  his  moves 
for  tomorrow.  He  had  found  that  in  this  great 
building  he  was  never  likely  to  meet  a  former 
friend.  It  proved  a  refuge  to  him  alike  in  heat 
and  in  cold  and  was  as  near  an  approach  to  a 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST       91 

club  as  he  could  afford,  and  he  was  accorded  per- 
fect courtesy  so  long  as  he  obeyed  the  rules.  Retri- 
bution came,  to  such  as  offended,  in  the  person  of 
a  middle-aged,  gray-bearded  man  who  appeared 
now  and  again  and  scanned  the  room  with  a  critical 
eye.  To  those  who  were  reading  newspapers  —  a 
heinous  sin  in  the  sight  of  the  library  authorities  — 
or  raised  their  voices  above  a  whisper,  or  made 
bold  to  snatch  hasty  refection  at  the  tables, 
verbal  reproof  was  justly  administered. 

One  Sunday,  when  the  answering  of  unsuitable 
advertisements  had  bereft  him  of  time  and  money 
and  his  old  life  lay  three  months  behind  and  his 
knowledge  of  specious  cries  for  help  prevented 
him  any  longer  from  striving  to  be  one  of  the 
gentlemen  of  good  address  to  whom  large  salaries 
were  offered,  he  came  upon  an  advertisement 
which  he  considered  in  a  favorable  light. 

"Wanted,  a  gentlemanly  man  over  twenty 
in  a  publishing  house.  Must  be  willing  to 
start  at  bottom  and  work  way  up.  Splendid 
opportunity  for  right  man.  X  E.  19th  St., 
City." 

It  said  honestly  that  he  must  work.  Well,  he 
was  willing  to  work,  and  by  this  time,  from  the 
bottom  up.    It  hinted  at  opportunities,  and  better 


92    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

still,  there  seemed  no  likelihood  of  his  having  to 
sell  something.  He  had  answered  hundreds  of 
advertisements  which  had  the  word  salesman  con- 
cealed in  them,  and  he  had  no  inspirations  as  to 
success  in  this  line  of  activity.  In  reply  to  his 
letter,  he  was  bidden  to  call  upon  the  firm,  and 
found  to  his  regret  that  it  was  not  a  house  of 
national  repute,  but  one  of  which  he  had  never 
heard.  In  an  outer  ofhce  were  some  twenty 
men,  all  willing  to  start  from  the  ground  up. 
They  bore  for  the  greater  part  the  marks  which 
hopelessness  and  shabbiness  lend.  One  applicant 
there  was  distinguished  by  better  clothes  and 
a  better  bearing,  and  with  him  Chester  was  sent 
into  the  office  of  the  sales-manager.  They  were 
motioned  to  the  two  chairs  the  little  compartment 
boasted  and  the  manager  turned  in  his  seat  and 
surveyed  them  closely. 

"  Now,"  he  said  easily,  "  I  wonder  if  you  two 
know  how  rnany  answers  I  had  to  my  advertise- 
ment." He  paused  Impressively.  "  It  was  way 
up  in  the  three  hundreds.  I  couldn't  waste  time 
to  open  'em  all,  but  of  what  I  did  read,  yours 
pleased  me  the  best  because  they  were  well 
written.  I  don't  mean  penmanship  —  that  cuts 
no  ice  on  this  job  —  but  I  mean  expressed," 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST       93 

"What  is  the  proposition?"  asked  Chester's 
companion.    "  Book  agent?  " 

The  sales-manager  nodded.  "  Yep,  but  not 
the  ordinary  style.  This  Is  the  greatest  book 
proposition  on  the  market,  and  if  you  fellows 
arc  half  as  sharp  as  I  think  you  are,  you  can  easy 
make   a   hundred   dollars   a   week." 

Chester  looked  doubtful.  "  I  thought  it  was 
indoor  work,"  he  returned. 

"  And  what  would  you  be  worth  at  indoor 
work?  "  demanded  the  other.  "  I  see  by  your  let- 
ter you've  had  mighty  little  experience.  Where's 
the  easy  mark  to  offer  you  the  chance  of  earning 
a  hundred  dollars  a  week  for  Indoor  work?  In- 
doors you'd  be  worth  just  about  five  dollars  to  me, 
but  outside  there's  no  limit  to  what  you  might 
earn."  He  ran  his  finger  down  a  ruled  column. 
"  Now  here's  a  man,"  he  asserted,  "  who  cleared 
a  hundred  and  fifteen  last  week  and  ninety-five 
the  week  before.  He's  one  of  the  Jersey  City 
bunch  and  never  sold  a  thing  till  he  came  with  me. 
He  wanted  indoor  work,  too.  I'm  going  to  pro- 
mote him." 

Chester  pricked  up  his  ears.  Here  were  the 
opportunities  the  advertisement  modestly  hinted. 
"  How?  "  he  demanded. 


94    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Make  him  manager  of  a  branch  agency," 
said  the  other,  "  and  give  him  a  commission  on 
each  salesman's  work.  I  shall  get  a  commission 
on  you  two,  if  you  make  good."  He  laughed  in 
triumph.  "  I  done  pretty  good  last  year  on  a 
proposition  not  near  as  good  as  this  and  bought 
an  eight-room  house  with  all  conveniences  In 
Jersey." 

Chester  was  not  sure  whether  to  regard  this 
as  a  warning  or  an  inducement;  but  the  thought  of 
the  Jersey  City  agent  who  had  his  own  ideas  about 
indoor  work  and  earned  two  hundred  dollars  in 
a  fortnight,  had  a  comforting  sound.  He  had 
found  in  his  search  for  work  that  the  indoor  man 
has  no  opportunities  at  all  commensurate  with 
those  offered  to  the  successful  salesman,  whether 
he  sold  shares  or  soap.  And  he  did  not  know 
that  the  special  pains  the  sales-manager  took  with 
him  was  due  entirely  to  his  assured  manner  and 
the  very  excellent  cut  of  his  clothes.  The  difference 
between  the  well  dressed  seller  and  the  poorly 
clad  one  is  marked.  One  is  a  salesman  and  the 
other  a  peddler. 

Chester's  companion  —  Everard  Peck,  late  of 
Cornell  —  had  attempted  selling  before  and  ex- 
pressed himself  anxious  tQ  hear  fuller  particulars. 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST       95 

The  sales-manager  thereupon  drew  from  a  leath- 
ern cover  a  handsomely  bound,  slim  book  and 
cleared  his  throat. 

"  This,"  he  commenced,  "  contains  specimen 
pages  and  the  most  attractive  illustrations  of 
the  work  you  are  to  sell.  It  will  be  complete  in 
fifty-two  volumes,  each  containing  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  pages  of  reading  matter  and  one  hundred 
and  sixteen  full  page  illustrations,  many  of  which 
are  in  four  colors.  It  is  the  standard  history  of 
the  human  race,  depicting  all  that  is  known  to 
modern  ethnologists  of  the  early  life  of  pre- 
historic man  down  to  the  achievements  of  Edison, 
Kelvin  and  Curie.  While  stocked  in  the  repletest 
manner  with  the  wisdom  of  our  staff  of  university 
professors,  and  while  it  is  welcomed  by  the  cul- 
tured, it  is  yet  of  such  entrancing  nature  as  to 
hold  in  rapt  attention  the  lisping  child  who  has 
but  lately  learned  to  read.  To  those  who  have 
had  no  proper  educational  opportunities,  to  those 
whose  commercial  exigencies  have  banished  col- 
lege studies,  to  the  busy  journalist,  the  statesman, 
the  business  man  or  mechanic,  this  work  comes 
as  a  godsend.  To  the  student  at  college  or  the 
pupil  at  school  there  has  never  been  such  an  op- 
portunity   to    acquire    exact    knowledge    written 


96    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

in  an  easy,  flowing  style,  and  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  the  dissemination  of  such  a  work  will 
do  more  to  promote  national  culture  than  a  mi- 
nute study  of  the  hundred  best  books  devised 
by  the  wit  of  man." 

The  sales-manager  paused  for  breath  and 
reached  for  some  blank  forms,  which  he  handed  to 
his  auditors.  "  These  give  all  the  information 
you  need  to  know.  Study  it  out  and  come  back 
and  see  me  this  afternoon.  I  shall  expect  Chester 
at  three  and  Peck  at  half-past.  And  let  me  tell 
you  this,"  he  added,  "  if  you've  got  sand,  you  can 
knock  five  hundred  a  month  out  of  this." 

Chester  found  himself  the  victim  of  unusual 
enthusiasm  and  beheld  Alaskan  scenery  drawing 
near.  To  be  singled  out  of  three  hundred  appli- 
cants and  offered  such  opportunities,  convinced 
him,  that  his  luck  had  turned.  Peck  listened  to 
him  less  sanguine  of  triumph.  "  It's  a  hard 
game,"  said  Peck,  late  of  Cornell. 

Chester  rebuked  his  lack  of  faith.  "  Surely 
not  when  we  have  a  genuinely  good  thing  to  sell." 
From  which  it  will  be  seen  that  he  was  but  new 
at  the  game  and  ripening  for  disappointment. 

At  three  o'clock,  the  sales-manager  received 
him   as   an  old   and   valued   friend.      He  leaned 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST       97 

back  in  his  chair  and  discoursed  on  what  he  was 
pleased  to  call  the  psychology  of  salesmanship. 
*'  As  you  get  wise  to  the  game,"  said  this  talented 
man,  "  you'll  find  your  own  line  of  talk.  I  don't 
care  how  you  slip  it  so  long  as  you've  the  idea  to 
rights.  You  can't  coax  a  man  into  buying  and 
you  can't  bully  him;  you've  just  got  to  make 
him  feel  that  he's  been  waiting  for  these  books 
and  you're  the  first  guy  to  blow  in  and  give  him 
the  chance."  He  looked  at  Chester  with  a  smile. 
"  Seems  kind  of  easy  to  sit  here  and  sell  books  in 
your  mental  vision,  don't  it?  But  I  want  to  tell 
you  right  here  that  it's  a  hard  game.  I  don't 
say  that  to  discourage  you  but  because  I  don't 
want  you  to  think  that  you've  just  got  to  let 
loose  your  eloquence  and  then  make  a  certain 
sale.  The  other  fellow  never  wants  to  buy. 
Just  let  that  soak  in,  will  you."*  He  hates  like 
hell  to  part  with  his  ready  money,  but  you've 
got  to  work  him  up  to  it.  It's  just  a  game  the 
way  I  look  at  it.    How  does  it  strike  you  ?  " 

"  As  hard,"  returned  Chester. 

"  It  is,"  assented  the  other.  "  The  only  things 
you  can  sell  easy  in  little  old  New  York  is  gold 
bricks,  and  they  go  like  hot  cakes  when  a  swell 
dresser  hands  'em  out  with  a  fine  line  of  patter. 


98    ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

But  there's  more  in  books  in  the  long  run.  I  got 
my  chance  on  subscription  books  and  now  I've 
a  modern,  eight-room  house,  all  improvements, 
on  Fourth  Street,  Union  Hill.  You  must  come  up 
some  Sunday  and  meet  the  boys.  When  I  started 
out  I  knew  as  much  about  selling  books  as  you 
do.  See  here,  now,  you  pretend  to  sell  me  these 
books.    Let's  see  what  you  make  of  it." 

Chester  looked  at  him  dubiously.  In  cold  blood 
the  thing  seemed  far  from  easy,  but  he  recognized 
it  as  a  test  that  must  be  undergone. 

"  Do  you  want  to  buy  —  "he  commenced. 

"  Cut  it  out,"  said  his  mentor.  "  Nobody 
wants  to  buy.    Try  again." 

"  I  have  an  excellent  set  of  books,"  Chester 
began. 

"  Forget  it,"  cried  the  manager.  "  Now,  my 
boy,  you  just  listen  to  me  and  put  in  all  the  ob- 
jections you  can  think  of  and  you'll  see  how  I 
answer  them." 

Chester  listened  amazed.  The  man  talked  at 
an  astonishing  pace.  Like  the  bishop  in  the  Bab 
Ballads,  he  "  argued  high,  he  argued  low,  he  also 
argued  round  about  him."  Chester's  feeble  pro- 
tests that  he  had  neither  time  nor  money  were 
swept  aside  like  snow  before  summer  suns.     In 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST       99 

five  minutes,  he  was  absolutely  convinced  that 
his  only  hope  for  success  In  this  life  and  salvation 
in  another  was  to  subscribe  instantly.  The  sales- 
manager  listened  carelessly  to  the  tribute  afforded 
him.  The  victory  was  too  easy  to  think  of  with 
pride. 

"  I  don't  expect  you  to  do  it  as  well  as  me,  yet," 
he  said,  "  but  if  you've  the  savvy  to  learn  from 
your  mistakes,  you'll  do."  He  looked  at  his  watch. 
"  I've  got  five  minutes  before  I  see  your  friend 
and  you  just  fire  ahead  and  ask  for  help  on  doubt- 
ful points.  That's  what  I  draw  my  salary  for, 
to  help  my  agents." 

Rapidly  Chester  thought  of  possible  situations. 
"  Supposing,"  he  asked,  "  I  get  talking  to  two 
people,  man  and  wife  say,  do  I  stick  to  one  or  try 
to  interest  them  both  ?  " 

"  A  few  skilful  questions  will  show  who's 
master,"  the  other  said,  "  and  when  you  find  out, 
aim  all  your  shot  at  that  one.  Never  waste  ammu- 
nition on  a  dead  one.  And  there's  another  thing 
v.'orth  remembering;  always  look  at  the  hats  and 
coats  in  the  hall.  That  ought  to  be  a  guide  as 
to  whether  there's  children.  If  there  is,  it  makes 
the  sale  easier.    This  is  a  kid's  age." 

"  But  there's  nothing  to  be  said  in  some  cases. 


100  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

If  a  woman  says  she  must  consult  her  husband, 
who  is  not  at  home,  for  instance." 

"  Easy,  my  boy,"  cried  the  sales-manager, 
"  dead  easy.  You  can  most  always  tell  when  that 
old  lie  is  coming  and  then  you  get  in  your  fine 
work.  Just  put  on  a  smile  and  tell  her  what  a 
mistake  you  made  with  the  lady  who's  got  the 
flat  upstairs.  Tell  her  when  you  suggested  that 
the  other  woman,  before  she  signed  the  contract, 
might  want  to  consult  her  husband,  your  party 
went  up  in  the  air  and  said  '  Do  you  suppose  I 
have  to  consult  my  husband  about  twenty-five 
cents  a  week  .^ '  The  sales-manager  smiled.  "That 
does  the  trick." 

Under  the  glamor  of  this  talk  and  the  thought 
that  through  the  dissemination  of  literature  he 
might  win  to  Alaska,  Chester  took  his  specimen 
pages  and  order  blanks  and  was  allotted  as 
territory  the  apartment  houses  between  Columbus 
Avenue  and  Central  Park,  West,  from  looth 
Street  to  104th  Street. 

"  There's  one  thing  more,"  said  the  manager, 
handing  him  three  closely  typed  pages.  "  I've 
had  these  instructions  to  agents  written  out  as 
a  help.  It's  a  few  hints  I  found  useful,  and  you 
had  better  adopt  them,  till  you're  wiser.    They're 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST     101 

private  and  must  be  returned  to  me  personally. 
Report  tomorrow  at  five  o'clock." 

Peck,  of  Cornell,  waiting  his  turn,  saw  Chester's 
package  and  his  new  look  of  hope.  "  Bully  for 
you,"  he  exclaimed,  "  and  good  luck." 

The  instructions  to  salesmen  were  diflFuse  and 
contained  a  great  deal  of  rugged  sense.  "  Look 
pleasant,"  was  one  of  the  axioms,  "  and  smile 
when  you're  telling  your  proposition.  Owls  look 
solemn  but  they  don't  make  sales."  "  Be  enthusi- 
astic," another  commanded  him.  "  A  salesman 
who  can't  get  good  and  enthusiastic,  couldn't 
sell  harp  strings  in  heaven." 

Chester  digested  these  and  the  specimen  pages 
of  his  book  with  much  diligence.  He  had  never 
perused  a  work  which  told  him  so  many  useful 
things  he  didn't  know.  He  had  been  bidden  to 
start  working  his  territory  at  half-past  nine; 
it  seemed  scandalously  early,  but  his  instructions 
were  definite.  The  smile  which  he  had  been  com- 
mended to  assume  and  study  in  the  mirror  was 
tried  on  the  car  conductor,  who  scowled  in  return 
as  though  his  passenger  were  taking  an  un- 
warrantable liberty.  An  excusable  trepidation 
took  hold  on  him  when  he  came  to  his  first  apart- 
ment house,  but  even  here    his   vade  mecum  was 


102  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

of  service.  "  Never,"  said  tliis  invaluable  guide, 
"  pause  in  the  hallway  as  if  you  were  in  doubt 
or  ashamed  of  yourself.  You  are  not  peddling 
shoe  laces;  you  are  advancing  the  great  cause  of 
education.  But  if  the  janitor  gets  on  to  your  game, 
go  next  door  first.  N.  B.  It's  more  difficult  work- 
ing elevator  apartments.  Wait  till  the  elevator 
goes  up  and  then  try  the  stairs.  Colored  boys 
get  on  to  you  quicker  than  white  ones." 

But  the  first  house  had  neither  disturbing  jani- 
tor nor  scrutinizing  elevator  boy.  Copying  the 
tenants'  names  as  per  instructions,  he  ascended 
to  the  top  floor  and  paused  before  what,  if  he 
had  not  been  misled  by  names,  was  the  dwelling 
of  Mrs.  Brannigan.  He  remembered  his  introduc- 
tory phrases  perfectly;  these  were  what  he  must 
use  until  he  found  his  own  line  of  talk.  Mrs. 
Brannigan,  untidy  beyond  belief,  opened  the 
door.     He  cleared  his  throat. 

"  Good  morning,  Mrs.  Brannigan,"  he  com- 
menced. "  Doubtless  you  have  noticed  that  the 
children  have  quite  a  deal  to  do  at  school,  now." 

His  monitor  followed  this  phrase  with  the  ad- 
vice, "  Here  pause  and  get  a  line  on  her  thoughts." 

The  lady  looked  at  him  chillingly.  "  I'm  Miss 
O'Grady,"  she  snapped,  "  and  I  never  had  no  chil- 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST     103 

dren."  And  then  she  slammed  the  door  in  his 
face  before  he  could  point  out  that  either  her 
grammar  or  her  morals  must  be  at  fault.  He 
looked  through  his  book  for  aid  on  a  situation 
like  this  but  there  was  nothing  to  help  him. 
But  he  noticed  that  he  had  made  a  grave  mistake. 
These  words  stared  him  in  the  face:  "  Never  talk 
at  the  door;  you  can  make  your  best  impression 
in  the  parlor."  He  pictured  Miss  O'Grady  in 
her  parlor  forgiving  his  dower  of  children  and 
becoming  by  degrees  as  enthusiastic  as  he  over 
the  book. 

The  next  lady,  Mrs.  Vitale  of  Northern  Italy, 
was  highly  suspicious;  and  when  Chester  made  a 
move  for  the  parlor,  she  headed  him  off  into  a 
little  cupboard  where  were  brooms  and  potatoes 
and  a  child's  express  wagon. 

"  Good  morning,  Mrs.  Vitale,"  he  commenced 
courteously.  "  Doubtless  you  have  noticed  that 
the  children  have  quite  a  good  deal  to  do  at 
school,  now.''"  He  made  the  necessary  pause 
but  got  no  line  on  her  thoughts.  He  felt  that 
she  was  not  playing  the  game  fairly  and  produced 
his  wares  and  spoke  of  the  joy  to  be  obtained  by 
their  possession.  The  children  looked  eagerly 
at  the  pictures  and  were  his  eloquent  supporters. 


104  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

But  they  soon  deserted  him  when  their  mother 
told  them,  in  ItaUan,  that  tomorrow  she  would 
buy  them  something  better  at  the  ten  cent  store. 

With  the  lady  on  the  next  floor  he  had  even 
less  success.  He  was,  perhaps,  too  feverishly 
eager  to  gain  the  parlor  to  inspire  her  with  belief 
in  his  integrity.  She  eyed  him  coldly  and  gave 
him  one  minute  to  leave  her  premises  and  spoke 
scathing  things  concerning  education. 

The  next  victim  listened  to  his  first  phrase  and 
then  remarked,  "  They  don't  get  enough  to  suit 
me.  Why,  when  I  was  a  girl  up  in  Vermont  —  " 
Her  reminiscences,  though  interesting,  promised 
him  no  sale,  and  he  paused  before  another  door  and 
rallied  his  fleeting  courage.  "  I  will,"  he  muttered 
with  gritted  teeth,.  "  I  will  get  into  that  con- 
founded parlor."  And  in  his  eagerness,  he  forgot 
to  use  the  opening  phrase  until  he  had  won  the 
haven.  The  woman  followed  him  and  listened 
amiably.  "  I  thought  you  was  the  gas  man,"  she 
remarked  simply.    "  Have  a  seat,  young  man." 

Chester  was  inspired.  He  talked  of  all  the  great 
men  whose  lives  mirrored  in  this  wondrous  work 
would  aid  all  young  Americans  to  do  great  and 
noble  things.  When  he  had  finished  he  was 
hoarse.     He  wiped  a  perspiring  brow  when  what 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST      105 

the  sales-manager  had  called  the  "  pyscholog- 
ical  moment,"  arrived.  The  lady  received  the 
contract  blank  without  aversion.  "  My  daugh- 
ter's spending  the  day  with  some  friends  out  in 
Jersey,"  she  remarked.  "  Come  around  again 
tomorrow." 

Repetitions  of  these  interviews  followed  and  he 
shook  off  the  dust  of  the  building  and  walked  a 
block  East  to  start  anew.  He  was  conscious  that 
he  had  made  many  mistakes  and  was  grateful  for 
this  cheering  sentence  in  his  book,  "  If,"  he  read, 
"  you  made  one  sale  in  three  without  fail,  you'd 
have  old  John  D.,  Andy  and  J.  Pierpont  giving 
up  the  trust  business  and  applying  for  your  job." 
Wise  counsel,  this,  in  the  hour  of  need.  The 
next  apartment  house  was  of  a  better  class  and  he 
dodged  the  elevator  boy  successfully  and  came  to 
the  top  floor.  He  drew  blank  and  descended  to 
the  next  landing.  Here  he  experienced  a  surprise. 
As  he  knocked,  the  door  flew  open  and  a  volumi- 
nous Juno,  clad  in  a  heliotrope  colored  kimono 
opened  it,  her  countenance  the  while  Irradiated 
with  a  seraphic  smile  which  far  eclipsed  his  own 
stereotyped  effort  at  light-heartedness.  But  it 
faded  away  quickly  when  she  saw  the  man  at  the 
door  was  not  the  one  she  expected  and  Chester 


106  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

judged  her  Irritation  would  beget  a  mood  wherein 
his  salesman  eflForts  would  be  unwelcome. 

Presently  he  came  to  a  man  newly  risen  from 
bed.  "  I  work  all  night,"  said  the  man,  glaring 
at  him  fiercely,  "  and  I  try  to  sleep  all  day,  and 
so  I  could  but  for  you  damned  book  agents.  You 
fellers  just  drive  me  crazy.  You  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  yourself." 

"  I  ani,"  said  Chester  sadly,  leaving  him,  a 
wrathful  apparition,  framed  in  the  open  door- 
way. 

In  the  next  apartment  a  man  and  a  woman  were 
breakfasting.  A  little  servant  opened  the  door 
and  offered  frail  opposition  to  his  desire  to  reach 
the  parlor.  He  paused  awkwardly  when  he  dis- 
covered the  trespass.  From  the  many  photographs 
about,  he  judged  the  couple  to  be  in  some  branch 
of  the  theatrical  profession.  They  gazed  at  him 
with  annoyance.  It  was  an  anxious  moment.  The 
book  told  him  by  adroit  questioning  he  was  to 
find  out  who  was  the  stronger  spirit  and  address 
remarks  to  that  one.  "  Good  morning,"  he  said 
presently,  and  made  the  fatal  error  of  allowing 
his  specimen  book  to  be  seen.  "  Doubtless  —  " 
"  Get  to  hell  out  of  here,"  roared  the  man. 
Chester  had  discovered  the  master  mind.     The 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST      107 

man  turned  to  a  slumbering  bull  dog.  "  Sic  him," 
he  cried.  But  the  intruder  was  friend  to  all 
dogdom  and  the  animal,  after  yawning,  arose  and 
licked  his  hand  and  even  prepared  to  accompany 
him  in  his  retreat. 

The  afternoon's  experiences  were  no  brighter 
than  those  of  the  morning.  There  seemed  a 
concerted  effort  on  the  part  of  these  people  to 
exclude  invaluable  volumes  from  their  homes,  and 
he  reported  at  live  o'clock,  feeling  that  the  sales- 
manager  would  be  much  disappointed. 

"  I  haven't  sold  a  subscription,"  he  said  dis- 
mally. 

The  other  laughed.  "  I  didn't  suppose  you 
would,"  he  retorted.  "  Or  tomorrow,  either,  for 
that  matter,  but  you've  just  got  to  go  on  trying. 
You  can't  break  into  a  paying  game  like  this, 
directly  you  take  it  up.  Why,  that  agent  in  Jersey 
City  what  I  told  you  about  didn't  make  any  sales, 
till  he'd  been  with  me  two  weeks.-  Wanted  to 
give  it  up  a  dozen  times  and  get  back  to  Squee- 
dunk  and  the  farm.  Then  he  struck  his  gait 
same  as  you  will  and  went  along  hke  a  house 
afire." 

These  words  were  balm  to  Chester  and  he  ab- 
sorbed fresh  counsel  and  started  with  fresh  hope 


108  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

on  the  morrow.  But  each  day  of  the  week 
was  like  the  first.  Everywhere  he  was  coldly 
received  and  often  insulted.  Occasionally  he 
thought  he  was  near  a  sale  but  such  hopes  never 
came  to  fruition.  People  were  interested  in  him 
but  not  in  his  proposition,  and  he  lacked  that 
convincing  quality  without  which  one  may  not 
be  a  salesman.  Fellow  workers  said  critically 
of  him  that  he  had  not  "  gall  "  enough  and,  at 
the  end  of  ten  days'  failure,  he  was  fain  to  adopt 
this  view.  He  risked  no  final  interview  with  the 
comforting  manager  of  sales  but  returned  his 
specimen  and  contract  blanks  by  the  office  boy  and 
walked  to  Central  Park.  It  was  the  last  week  in 
September,  when  wealthy  New  Yorkers  were, 
for  the  most  part,  still  away  from  town  and  he 
was  likely  to  meet  nobody  who  knew  him.  He 
was  surprised  with  what  ease  he  could  avoid  the 
friends  of  other  days.  Had  he  been  a  seeker 
for  work  from  an  alien  land,  he  could  not  have 
been  more  alone. 

He  walked  aimlessly  through  the  Park,  no 
longer  in  the  motor  era  the  throng  of  fashion, 
and  presently  came  to  the  little  lake  hard  by  one 
of  the  Fifth  Avenue  entrances,  and  sat  down 
by  it. 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST     109 

His  thoughts  went  back  to  the  day  a  few 
months  earlier  when  he  had  cheerfully  protested 
his  hope  of  salvation  by  work.  They  had  been 
right  who  had  doubted  him,  he  mused,  and  the 
world  was  no  nearer  the  conquering.  With  this 
black  mood  upon  him,  he  paid  little  attention 
to  his  surroundings  and  was  startled  presently 
to  hear  a  squeak  and  behold  almost  at  his  feet 
a  gray  squirrel  regarding  him  with  friendly  eyes. 
A  minute  later  the  little  animal  had  sprung  on 
the  seat  and  come  boldly  toward  him,  suffering 
his  back  to  be  stroked.  Then  came  another  as 
free  from  fear  as  the  first  and  perched  on  his 
shoulder.  And  a  third,  leaping  over  the  grass, 
joined  his  fellows  and  looked  at  him  with  bright, 
beady  eyes.  And  they  brought  a  strange,  pleasant 
sense  of  companionship  with  them  that  lightened 
his  heart  and  took  his  black  mood  away  and  let 
him  see  the  beauty  of  the  day. 

He  looked  at  them  with  a  tenderness  that  sur- 
prised him  and  felt  as  perhaps  the  gentle,  brown- 
habited  Saint  of  Assisi  had  felt  seven  centuries 
before  toward  his  little  brothers,  the  birds  of  the 
air.  "  You're  good  little  chaps,"  he  assured  them 
when  he  found  that  they  had  constituted  them- 
selves his  friends,  "  and  if  ever  I  can,  I'll    make 


no  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

a  change  In  the  Chester  arms.  We've  got  three 
stupid  wyverns  on  a  shield.  I'll  have  three 
squirrels  instead.     Hallo,  what's  the  matter.?  " 

They  had  scampered  down  from  the  seat  and 
were  making  toward  some  friendly  trees.  Chester 
looked  up  to  see  a  small  boy  running  toward  him, 
breathless.  Park  squirrels  have  no  especial  con- 
fidence in  unattended  small  boys  and  Chester 
did  not  look  amiably  at  the  disturber.  "  Well.''  " 
he  demanded  not  very  amiably.  "  What's  the 
trouble.?" 

"  'Ginia's  got  a  nail  in  her  shoe  and  can't 
walk,"  the  small  boy  declared. 

"Who's  'Ginia.?"  Chester  asked  more  kindly; 
he  was  now  convinced  that  the  lad  was  not  guilty 
of  hard  thoughts  to  the  new  ornaments  to  the 
Chester  coat  of  arms. 

"  My  sister,"  returned  the  small  boy.  "  She's 
only  a  little  girl.    You've  got  to  carry  her." 

"That's  the  idea,  is  it.?  Where  shall  I  carry 
her?  " 

The  child  waved  his  hand  airily  to  the  tall 
houses  over  the  road.    "  We  live  there,"  he  said. 

"  But  Where's  your  sister.?  "  Chester  asked. 

The  boy  put  his  hand  in  the  other's  and  led 
him  along  the  path,  chatting  the  while  excitedly. 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST     111 

"  You  see,"  he  explained,  "  if  she  walks,  she'll 
get  lockjaw  very  likely.  You  generally  get  lock- 
jaw if  a  nail  goes  into  your  toes;  and  if  she  gets 
it,  she'll  have  to  have  her  teeth  knocked  in  to 
get  the  food  down.  I  suppose  you've  seen  heaps 
of  people  with  lockjaw." 

"  Not  one."  Chester  could  see  that  his  answer 
had  disappointed, 

"  And  if  it's  not  lockjaw,  it  will  be  blood -poison, 
and  then  she'll  have  her  leg  cut  off.  Have  you 
ever  seen  a  very  little  girl  with  a  wooden  leg.''  " 

"  I'm  afraid  not,"  returned  Chester  with  an 
air  of  apology. 

'Ginia  proved  to  be  an  exceedingly  pretty 
little  child  of  five,  very  richly  dressed.  There  were 
tears,  hardly  dry,  upon  her  face.  It  was  incon- 
ceivable to  Chester  that  they  should  be  unat- 
tended. 

"  Where's  your  nurse?  "  he  demanded. 

"  We  ran  away  from  her,"  'Ginia  answered  com- 
posedly. "  She  wasn't  interesting.  She  wouldn't 
let  me  put  my  feet  in  the  water.  You  would, 
wouldn't  you .''  " 

Chester  refused  to  be  drawn  into  a  conversa- 
tion which  reeked  of  disrespect  toward  proper 
authority.    "  What  about  your  foot.''  "  he  asked. 


112  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I  can't  walk,"  she  said;  "  there's  a  nail  in 
my  toe." 

The  boy  assumed  a  professional  air.  "  And 
that's  why  I  think  it's  lockjaw,"  he  said. 

Chester  unbuttoned  a  little,  white  suede  shoe 
and  saw  on  the  ball  of  the  toe  a  red  spot  of  blood. 
He  looked  at  it,  critically. 

"  What  do  you  think  it  is.?  "  the  boy  demanded. 
"  Lockjaw  or  blood-poison.?  " 

"  Neither,"  Chester  asserted  with  the  air  of 
a  consulting  surgeon.  "  All  it  wants  is  to  be 
bathed  with  hot  water." 

"  Sha'n't  I  get  chicken  broth  and  port  wine 
jelly.?"  'Ginia  asked  with  an  appearance  of 
anxiety. 

"  I  hope  so,"  he  returned.  "  I  should  insist 
on  it,  if  I  were  you.  Now,  as  it  will  soon  be  your 
bedtime,  I'll  take  you  home."  He  put  the  shoe 
in  his  pocket  and  lifted  the  girl  to  his  shoulder 
and  followed  the  boy  out  of  the  entrance  gate 
and  up  Fifth  Avenue.  Presently  the  boy  gave 
a  shout  of  delight.  "  There's  auntie,"  he  said. 
"  She  always  comes  to  find  us  when  we  get  lost." 

"  And  never  calls  us  mischievous  little  devils," 
'Ginia  observed  calmly.  "  I  once  asked  God  to 
make  her  our  mother,"   she  continued,   "  but  I 


BEGINNING  OF  CONQUEST     113 

spoke  too  late,  as  usual."  She  had  a  singularly- 
sophisticated  air  for  her  years.  Chester  was 
glad  to  see  that  the  boy  had  run  to  meet  his  aunt. 
She  would  be  the  earlier  relieved  of  fearing  a 
serious  accident.  He  could  see  that  the  aunt  was 
beautifully  gowned  and  bore  out  his  belief  that 
the  children  were  of  the  wealthy  classes.  But  when 
she  looked  at  Chester  he  nearly  let  his  burden 
drop,  for  the  lovely  girl  gazing  up  at  'Ginia  was 
the  woman  he  had  married.  He  was  conscious 
that  she  was  thanking  him  and  that  an  answer 
was  demanded.  He  was  too  confused  to  notice 
what  she  was  saying.  He  narrowly  prevented 
himself  from  uttering  the  fatuous  phrase  which  had 
prefaced  his  conversations  of  the  last  ten  days. 

"  You  must  let  me  carry  her,"  said  the  girl. 

He  looked  at  her  slight  figure  and  shook  his 
head.  "  I'm  so  much  better  fitted  for  it,"  he 
answered,  and  marched  on  to  the  great  house 
where  the  children  lived. 

Would  she  recognize  him,  he  wondered,  and 
think  this  part  of  a  plan  to  see  her  and  break  his 
promise.'*  She  had  looked  at  him  without  any 
suspicion,  thinking  merely  that  he  was  a  kindly- 
disposed  young  man  of  the  class  to  which  she  be- 
longed, who  had  taken  pity  on  her  niece. 


114  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

He  looked  at  her  when  he  was  become  more 
composed  with  a  growing  admiration.  In  anima- 
tion her  face  was  loveher  than  ever  and  the  well 
fitting  dress  she  wore  made  her  infinitely  attract- 
ive. And  he  sighed  when  he  thought  how  much 
greater  distance  she  was  now  from  him  than  he 
had  ever  deemed  possible. 

At  the  door  she  held  out  her  hand.  "  I'm  sure 
their  mother,  Mrs.  Godfrey,  would  be  very  glad 
to  thank  you  if  you  care  to  come  in,"  she  said. 

"  Thanks,  I  won't  trouble  her,"  he  returned  and 
txx>k  his  leave. 


CHAPTER   VI 

MILLIONAIRES    AND    MINES 

"  When  we  are  invited  to  an  entertainment,  we  take  what  we  find; 
and  if  any  one  should  bid  the  master  of  the  house  set  fish  or  tarts 
before  him,  he  would  be  thought  absurd.  Yet,  in  the  world,  we  ask 
the  gods  for  what  they  do  not  give  us,  and  that  though  they  have 
given  us  so  many  things."  —  Epictetus. 

CYRIL  and  Virginia  Godfrey  were  the 
children  of  Norah's  first  cousin,  who  had 
died  when  the  younger  was  only  a  few 
months  old.  His  widow  had  not  taken  another 
mate,  fearing  any  responsibilities  which  might 
interfere  with  her  lazy  and  aimless  existence. 
She  was  profoundly  grateful  that  Norah  Ellis, 
when  her  grandfather's  legacy  put  her  in  a  hap- 
pier financial  state,  had  consented  to  give  up  her 
apartment  and  reside  in  the  Godfrey  house,  as 
Norah  was  so  much  better  able  to  take  charge 
of  a  large  household  than  Mrs.  Godfrey,  who  did 
not  inspire  servants  with  love  or  esteem. 

It  was  Norah  who,  when  the  tearful  nurse  made 
her  way  back  without  her  charges,  calmed  the 
mother's  anxieties  and  sallied  forth  to  find  them. 


116  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

And  when  in  triumph  she  took  them  to  their 
mother  she  was  fulfilling  only  what  was  confidently 
expected  of  her.  When  she  had  fondled  them  and 
threatened  dire  punishments  for  similar  future 
offenses,  she  sent  them  to  bed  and  turned  to  her 
cousin. 

"  Charlie  Renalls  'phoned  to  say  he  would  dine 
here  tonight,"  she  said.  "  That's  the  second 
time  this  week." 

"  We've  no  one  to  meet  him,"  returned  Norah; 
"  that's  a  pity." 

Mrs.  Godfrey  laughed.  "  He  won't  consider 
it  as  such." 

Charles  Renalls  was  one  of  the  younger  men  in 
the  financial  world  content  to  wait  without 
visible  impatience  for  the  fall  of  septuagenarian 
giants.  Of  obscure  origin  and  moderate  educa- 
tion, he  had  forced  himself  to  be  respected  by 
great  capitalists.  Starting  as  a  company  pro- 
moter in  a  small  way,  he  was  now  president  of 
the  Inter-State  Trust  Company  and  known  to 
be  one  of  those  far-seeing  capitalists  who  believed 
in  the  great  future  of  South  America.  The  Di- 
rectory of  Directors  showed  him  to  be  the  presi- 
dent of  five  mining  companies  in  Brazil  and 
the  Argentine. 


MILLIONAIRES  AND  MINES    117 

An  ugly  man,  but  with  power  In  every  line  of 
his  face,  that  made  him  of  more  than  common 
interest,  he  had  two  hobbies.  As  a  pigeon-shot 
he  was  absolutely  first  class,  and  there  were  few 
better  amateur  violinists.  His  collection  of 
violins  was  world  famous. 

Although  known  as  a  bold  speculator,  he  was 
never  associated  with  any  of  the  get-rich-quick 
schemes  that  have  undone  so  many  young  finan- 
ciers of  talent.  He  had  seen  that  crooked  courses 
and  shady  episodes  in  the  lives  of  great  capital- 
ists do  not  bring  them  to  the  place  of  honor  he 
coveted.  Long  before  she  had  known  him, 
Norah  Ellis  had  admired  his  fighting  qualities. 
There  was  in  her  the  capacity  for  understanding 
that  soldiers  of  finance  have  their  campaigns, 
their  skirmishes,  pitched  battles,  victories  or  re- 
treats much  as  do  their  brothers  of  the  tented 
field.  And  to  her  there  was  something  infinitely 
more  entrancing  in  the  spectacle  of  the  financial 
fighter  Hving  always  amid  war's  alarms,  than  of  the 
other  to  whom  war  was  but  an  occasional  incident. 

Someone  had  pointed  Renalls  out  to  her  at  an 
Ysaye  concert  as  a  foolish  young  man  who  had 
dared  to  assert  himself.  He  was  a  child  among 
sage  men,  her  companion  affirmed,  and  would  be 


118  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

broken.  She  watched  the  newspaper  accounts  of 
the  fray  and  rejoiced  to  see  that  Renalls  won. 
He  did  not  win  because  he  was  a  better  man  than 
his  antagonists  but  because  they  had  gone  into 
battle  with  insolent  unpreparedness.  He  was  wise 
enough  after  this  not  to  cross  swords  with  them, 
and  it  was  after  this  warning  that  he  turned  to 
South  American  fields  not  pre-empted  by  this 
ring  of  financial  aristocrats.  He  was  so  frequently 
quoted  as  the  South  American  mining  magnate 
that  people  lost  sight  of  his  growing  power  in 
Manhattan. 

And  had  it  not  been  for  that  rich  and  ancient 
colony  of  Portugal,  Brazil,  he  might  never  have 
met  with  Norah  Ellis.  There  had  come  to  him 
one  day  a  young  man,  Juan  Mendoza,  by  name, 
clerk  in  a  great  Rio  banking  house,  and  repre- 
senting his  cousin,  Esteban  Mendoza,  until  re- 
cently engineer  in  charge  of  a  section  of  the  Bra- 
ganza  State  Railroad,  then  in  course  of  construc- 
tion. Working  under  this  engineer  was  an  Indian 
foreman  of  negroes  whose  frequent  lapses  into 
drunkenness  had  led  to  his  dismissal.  Failing  of 
reinstatement,  he  appealed  over  the  head  of  his 
section  boss  to  the  man  in  charge.  Mendoza 
refused  to  interfere.     When  the  Indian  saw  that 


MILLIONAIRES  AND  MINES     119 

he  would  not  be  able  to  buy  the  vile  spirit  sold 
to  the  men,  he  drew  from  his  pocket  a  nugget  of 
gold  of  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg  and  asked  Mendoza 
to  purchase  it.  He  asked  five  dollars  for  this.  He 
was  offered  twice  that  if  he  would  say  where  it 
was  found. 

"  I  know,"  said  the  man,  "  a  mountain  of  it." 
Mendoza  procured  leave  of  absence  and  verified 
the  native's  statement.  And  from  that  moment 
until,  six  months  later,  he  died  of  alcoholic 
poisoning,  the  Indian  was  never  sober.  Mendoza 
was  thus  the  sole  repository  of  the  secret.  All 
this  incredible  story  Juan  Mendoza  poured  into 
Renalls'  ears.  His  cousin,  he  said,  could  not  get 
the  attention  of  the  great  capitalists,  who  re- 
fused to  believe  that  gold  could  be  found  in  any 
part  of  Brazil  except  the  state  of  Minaes  Geraes, 
which  has  been  worked  since  the  earliest  days. 
He  dared  not  give  information  which  would  lead 
to  prospecting  parties  being  organized  and  the 
gold  discovered.  He  was  forced  to  wait  until 
some  rich  men  believed  him  and  financed  the 
undertaking.  And  it  was  of  Charles  Renalls  he 
had  thought. 

The  New  Yorker  listened  to  this  tale  as  he  had 
listened  to  many  others  of  similar  nature.     The 


120  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

first  inkling  that  there  might  be  something  in  it 
was  the  large  sum  Esteban  Mendoza  wanted  for 
his  concession.  As  a  rule  the  humble  inventor 
or  discoverer  was  a  timorous  individual,  but 
Mendoza  wanted  a  great  price  and  would  not 
abate  one  jot  of  it. 

Renalls  treated  the  South  American,  used  to  the 
almost  exaggerated  courtesy  of  his  kind,  with  his 
usual  lack  of  manners.  "  Come  back  in  the  morn- 
ing and  I'll  talk  to  you,"  he  said,  "  and  keep  your 
mouth  shut,  if  you  want  to  do  business  with  me." 

But  Juan  Mendoza  never  went  back.  He  had 
arranged  to  use  the  code  of  his  bank  to  cable  to 
his  cousin  and  went  straightway  to  the  New  York 
counsel  of  the  bank  —  a  Mr.  Cosway  —  to  write 
his  wire.  While  he  was  thanking  the  lawyer  for 
his  courtesy  and  exhibiting  the  great  nugget, 
Norah  Ellis  chanced  to  come  into  the  office  and 
straightway  took  fire  at  the  story  and  made 
provisional  agreement  with  Juan  acting  for  his 
cousin.  In  vain  did  the  conservative  Cosway 
urge  fuller  consideration;  but  his  client  had  her 
own  way  of  doing  things  and  within  a  month 
was  part  owner  of  the  North  Brazil  Goldfields 
and  possessed  of  the  greatest  belief  in  its  future. 

Renalls,    waiting    impatiently    for    the    Portu- 


MILLIONAIRES  AND  MINES     121 

guese  to  return,  learned  that  he  had  been  beaten 
by  a  woman  and  was  furious.  Mendoza's  story 
had  not  been  without  its  fascination  even  for  him 
and  he  swore  to  get  even  with  her.  When  an  op- 
portunity arose  to  meet  her  at  a  social  function 
he  accepted,  supposing  that  he  would  discover  a 
middle-aged  woman  of  few  attractions.  Instead 
he  met  Norah  Ellis  and  fell  in  love  with  her. 
The  North  Brazil  Goldfields  would  come  to  him 
just  as  easily  through  marriage,  he  concluded.  He 
was  a  constant  visitor  to  the  Godfrey  house  now 
Norah  was  living  there,  and  it  was  in  the  charac- 
ter of  a  suitor  avowed  that  he  was  dining  there 
tonight.  Mrs.  Godfrey  always  thought  of  him 
as  a  relative  by  marriage,  of  whom  she  could  make 
use.  Inspired  by  Norah's  success  as  a  business 
woman,  she  attempted  little  operations  in  the 
stock  markets,  which  came  to  naught  so  long  as 
she  relied  upon  her  own  judgment.  Charles 
Renalls  seemed  always  ready  to  advise  her  when 
she  asked  him;  and  since  his  counsel  always 
brought  her  good  fortune,  she  was  anxious  to 
keep  his  friendship.  She  was  sometimes  a  little 
annoyed  that  Norah  seemed  indifferent  to  his 
feelings  for  her. 

"  You  ought  to  be  flattered,"  she  said.     "  He 


122  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

doesn't  care  to  dine  at  many  houses.  A  lot  of 
women  run  after  him." 

"  Very  creditable  of  them,"  Norah  commented. 
*'  It  must  increase  his  respect  for  our  sex." 

Renalls  had  been  in  the  house  a  few  minutes 
only  when  young  Ronald  Monmouth  was  an- 
nounced. The  financier  looked  at  him  sourly. 
He  was  not  jealous  of  him,  since  it  was  no  secret 
that  he  was  of  the  rejected,  but  while  he  stayed 
there  were  none  of  the  little  intimate  conversa- 
tions that  were  so  sweet  to  the  older  man.  For 
Monmouth's  father  Renalls  had  a  certain  respect, 
but  for  his  sons,  who  were  merely  ornamental, 
he  had  none.  And  Monmouth,  none  too  pleased 
at  this  opinion  openly  expressed,  and  seeing  in 
the  other  a  man  who  might  succeed  where  he 
had  failed,  experienced  always  a  sense  of  grati- 
fication if  he  could  stir  up  jealousy  in  him. 

The  dinner  found  Renalls  in  his  usually  quiet, 
contained  mood.  He  had  not  always  rejoiced 
in  this  self-possession.  As  a  younger  man,  at  a 
Chamber  of  Commerce  dinner  he  had  rallied 
with  good-humored  contempt  a  great  scholar 
who  sat  opposite  to  him,  silent  through  the  many 
courses.  Renalls  in  those  days  was  not  used  to 
champagne  or  the  company  of  Wall  Street  mag- 


MILLIONAIRES  AND  MINES    123 

nates  and,  as  the  dinner  wore  on,  felt  eloquent 
stirrings  within  him.  He  was  always  impatient 
of  the  learning  which  some  men  pretended  to 
respect  but  which  yet  brought  its  possessor  no 
temporal  benefits.  The  silence  of  the  old  man 
opposite  him  became  oppressive  and  he  leaned 
over  the  table  and  asked  him  whether  it  was 
from  want  of  words  or  from  folly  that  he  remained 
so  quiet.  The  old  man  looked  at  him  from  under 
heavy,  gray  eyebrows.  "  There  was  another 
young  man  who  asked  the  great  Solon  that," 
he  answered. 

"  What  did  Solon  say? "  demanded  Renalls, 
and  many  listened  for  his  answer. 

The  old  man  regarded  him  with  a  grim  look. 
"'No  fool,'  said  Solon,  'can  be  silent  at  a 
feast.'  " 

It  was  a  lesson  which  Renalls  never  forgot; 
and  when  the  savant,  from  the  failure  of  his  pub- 
lishers, fell  upon  evil  days,  and  a  subscription 
was  raised  to  assure  his  euthanasia,  the  thousand 
dollars  sent  anonymously  to  the  fund  came  from 
the  man  he  had  publicly  rebuked. 

Renalls  listened  to  Mrs.  Godfrey's  account  of 
the  accident  to  Virginia  and  regretted  that  she 
had  not  thanked  the  heroic  rescuer.     He  always 


124  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

professed  deep  interest  In  the  Godfrey  children, 
and  remarked  that  he  was  glad  no  worse  accident 
had  happened. 

Norah  Interrupted  a  little  Impatiently.  "  It 
was  not  such  a  hard  task  to  carry  Virginia  a 
few  hundred  yards." 

"Was  he  young  and  handsome?"  Ronald 
Monmouth  demanded. 

"  I  really  hardly  noticed,"  she  returned.  "  He 
seemed  a  tall,  well  dressed  man  of  twenty-eight 
or  so." 

"  It's  extraordinary  the  way  you  meet  mys- 
terious strangers,"  he  commented. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  demanded  Renalls. 
"How  does  she  meet  mysterious  strangers?" 
He  looked  suspiciously  at  Monmouth. 

Ronald  had  Intended  such  a  question  should 
be  asked.  "  Just  before  Norah  left  the  Beau 
Sejour  to  come  here  we  called  In  one  night  and 
met  a  curious  collection.  Mother  has  already 
annexed  one  named  Plumm  and  asks  him  in 
when  she's  dull  and  wants  amusing.  The  other 
sportsman  was  disguised  as  a  gentleman  and 
wore  a  wig." 

"  He  didn't,"  the  girl  exclaimed. 

"  I'll  bet  you  what  you  like  he  did,"  said  Mon- 


MILLIONAIRES  AND  MINES     125 

mouth.  "  I  thought  at  the  time  there  was  some- 
thing curious  about  his  make-up,  and  when  I 
saw  a  man  behind  the  scenes  at  the  Broadway 
Theatre  the  other  night  making  up,  I  knew  what 
it  was.  Don't  you  remember  how  young  his  voice 
was,  and  wasn't  his  figure  a  young  man's. f*  " 

Renalls  looked  at  her  intently.  *'  Is  he  talking 
nonsense.'*  "  he  asked. 

"  Doesn't  he  always.^  "  she  retorted.  She  won- 
dered if  by  any  chance  her  cousin  could  be  right; 
there  had  been  something  curiously  young  about 
this  man,  radiant  with  the  hope  that  he  could 
carve  out  a  career. 

"Where  did  you  meet  him,  Norah.^  "  Mrs. 
Godfrey  asked. 

"  He  was  brought  there,"  she  replied. 

"  Not  by  Plumm,"  Monmouth  told  them: 
"  Plumm  says  he  never  met  him  before.  Plumm 
is  looking  for  him  all  the  time.  This  mysterious 
stranger,"  Monmouth  informed  his  listeners, 
"  had  a  habit  of  flinging  little  packets  of  bills  — - 
five  hundred  at  a  time  —  toward  anyone  who 
needed  help.  Mother  was  quite  angry  with  Plumm 
for  not  producing  him.  She  has  fifty-five  chari- 
ties all  needing  help." 

"  I  didn't  say  Dr.  Plumm  brought  him,"  the 


126  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

girl  said  rather  lamely.  She  was  not  anxious  to 
have  the  events  of  that  evening  discussed. 

"  You  mean  old  Cosway,"  Monmouth  ex- 
claimed, "  Poor  old  Coswayl  Who'd  have 
thought  that  he  was  to  die  in  a  week!  Made  me 
feel  serious  when  I  heard  about  it.  I  was  con- 
vinced of  the  evils  of  idleness,  Renalls.  I  nearly 
came  and  asked  you  to  get  me  a  job.  Cosway's 
death  must  have  put  you  in  a  hole,  Norah." 

"  On  the  contrary,"  she  said,  "  he  was  ex- 
tremely methodical  and  left  all  his  affairs  in  order. 
Everything  goes  like  clockwork." 

"  North  Brazil  Goldfields  and  all.?  "  demanded 
Renalls. 

"  Mr.  Cosway  had  nothing  to  do  with  that," 
she  said.  "  He  had  to  do  with  my  more  intimate 
affairs." 

"  He  was  a  good  lawyer,"  Renalls  declared. 
"  Once,  more  to  pass  the  time  than  anything 
else,  I  asked  him  something  about  your  affairs, 
Norah.  He  shut  me  up  in  quick  time  and  said 
your  aflfairs  were  not  to  be  discussed." 

"  All  the  Ellises  are  secretive,"  Mrs.  Godfrey 
remarked.  "  Nobody  knows  the  slightest  thing 
about  them." 

Norah    observed    Renalls    closely    during    this 


MILLIONAIRES  AND  MINES     127 

speech.  The  will  of  Simon  Ellis  was  open  to  the 
world  to  read,  or  at  any  rate  to  the  world's  lawyer, 
but  she  relied  on  the  fact  that  It  had  been  proved 
ten  years  before  and  long  before  she  had  met 
Renalls.  Its  curious  provision,  Mr.  Cosway  had 
assured  her,  was  forgotten  by  this  time  and  she 
need  fear  no  publicity. 

Renalls  judged  from  a  certain  constraint  In 
her  manner  that  she  was  worried  about  something 
but  assumed  it  to  be  her  mining  venture.  He 
knew  that  it  had  already  caused  her  much  worry. 
Occasionally  she  had  broached  the  subject  to  him 
but  he  had  never  oflFered  any  advice.  Often  she  had 
hoped  he  would;  sage  counsel  such  as  his  would 
often  have  been  invaluable  but  she  had  too  much 
pride  to  ask  where  he  seemed  disposed  not  to  give. 
There  had  been  many  misadventures.  One  of  them 
was  in  part  responsible  for  her  determination  to 
take  advantage  of  her  grandfather's  legacy. 

When  the  mine  was  ready  to  be  operated  on  a 
larger  scale  she  had  bought  stamps  and  necessary 
heavy  machinery.  Finding  freight  charges  so 
high,  she  had  chartered  a  small  British  tramp 
steamer  and  sent  her  cargo  direct  to  a  nearer 
landing  than  could  be  made  by  ordinary  freighters. 
Against  advice,  she  did  not  insure  the  cargo,  and 


128  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

from  the  time  the  vessel  passed  Sandy  Hook  she  was 
not  spoken  with  or  heard  of.  New  stamps  were 
imperative,  and  with  her  new  fortune  she  sent  out 
an  expert  to  construct  a  cyanide  plant.  She  and 
Mendoza  had  determined  that  the  thing  was  too 
big  for  them  to  run  successfully  and  they  purposed, 
when  the  new  equipment  was  in  operation  and 
the  output  increasing,  to  throw  the  shares  on  the 
market,  realizing  thereby  a  fortune.  Mendoza 
had  found  himself  unfitted  for  the  conduct  of  so 
large  an  undertaking  and  his  partner  was  already 
wearied  of  having  to  concentrate  so  much  atten- 
tion upon  it. 

She  took  up  Mrs.  Godfrey's  remark  about  her 
secretiveness.  "  That's  because  I  won't  talk 
about  the  mine.  My  dear  Alice,  one  is  never  a 
prophet  in  one's  own  country.  Nobody  here  be- 
lieved in  the  thing,  so  why  should  I  risk  your 
scorn,?  " 

"  I  believe  in  it,"  Ronald  Monmouth  declared, 
"  and  so  do  a  lot  of  men  I  know.  They  say  you're 
the  cleverest  woman  in  America." 

"  And  others,"  said  Renalls,  "  declare  the  whole 
thing  is  a  fake." 

Mrs.  Godfrey  felt  bound  to  contribute  her  share 
of  knowledge.     "  And  I  read  a  paragraph  in  the 


MILLIONAIRES  AND  MINES     129 

Financial  Leader  last  week  which  said  there  was 
no  gold  in  North  Brazil." 

"  I  know  the  man  who  wrote  it,"  Norah  ex- 
claimed contemptuously,  "  and  when  I  want  him 
to  write  my  side  he'll  do  it  for  the  same  price. 
Surely,  Alice,  you  don't  believe  in  those  inspired 
articles.?  " 

"  There's  often  something  in  them,"  her  cousin 
returned  vaguely. 

"  I'm  content  to  put  my  all  in  it,"  the  girl  said 
confidently. 

"  It  isn't  wise,"  Renalls  objected. 

"  It  proves  my  faith,"  she  replied. 

"  It's  too  big  for  you  to  handle,"  Ronald 
commented.    "  You're  only  a  girl." 

"  One  takes  that  as  a  compliment  at  a  quarter 
of  a  century,"  she  laughed.  "  And  as  for  the 
capability,  I'm  far  more  fit  than  you,  Ronald,  to 
look  after  business  matters." 

"Pooh!"  Ronald  declared  airily,  "I'm  like 
Renalls,  I  pay  people  to  do  it  for  me." 

"  I'm  pleased  to  think,"  Renalls  told  him  point- 
edly, "  that  you  resemble  mc  in  very  few  things." 

Monmouth  looked  at  him  a  trifle  spitefully. 
"  More  than  you  think,"  he  observed.  "  Norah 
has  turned  us  both  down,  hasn't  she."*  " 


130  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

When  Monmouth  had  gone,  Renalls  refused  to 
play  as  was  his  custom  to  the  girl's  accompani- 
ment. "  That  young  ass  was  right,"  he  said. 
"  You  have  turned  us  both  down,  Norah,"  he 
continued.    "  Why  won't  you  marry  me?  " 

"  No  use,"  she  said.  "  I'm  not  for  marrying 
just  yet,  and  if  ever  I  do,  I  don't  think  you'll 
be  my  type,  Charlie." 

He  said  nothing  for  a  moment;  then  he  looked 
at  her  hard.  "  I  wouldn't  be  too  sure  of  that,"  he 
observed.  "  I  want  you  as  I  want  nothing  else 
on  God's  earth,  and  I  have  never  failed  yet  in 
getting  what  I  wanted." 

There  were  people  who  termed  him,  for  want 
of  a  better  word,  magnetic;  and  he  had  strange, 
compelling  eyes  that  people  did  not  always 
wish  to  meet.  There  was  a  certainty,  too,  in 
his  manner  which  was  disquieting,  and  she  some- 
times allowed  herself  to  wonder  if  ever  his  strong 
personality  would  dominate  her  to  the  extent 
that  he  would  be  able  to  win  her. 

Tonight  the  old  signet  ring,  which  every  day 
she  determined  to  lay  aside,  seemed  to  give  her 
strange  comfort.  She  turned  it  round  nervously. 
While  she  wore  it  and  had  not  divorced  its  owner  it 
promised  her  immunity  —  she  was  safe  from  him. 


MILLIONAIRES  AND  MINES     131 

"  What  ring  is  that?  "  he  demanded. 

She  looked  at  him  steadily,  her  courage  re- 
turning. "  Perhaps  it's  an  engagement  ring," 
she  said. 

"  I  hope  not,  for  the  man's  sake,"  he  returned 
grimly.  There  was  on  his  face  a  look  that  was 
pitiless.  She  was  reminded  of  his  statement  that 
he  fought  his  enemies  with  the  relentless  fury 
that  his  frontier  forefathers  battled  with  their 
foes,  those  renegade  red  men  who  were  known 
as  the  Indians  of  the  Plains. 

"  You  haven't  any  right  to  say  that,"  she  cried, 
resentment  in  her  voice. 

"Why  not.?"  he  asked.  "You  say  you  are 
not  going  to  marry,  so  I  shall  never  have  your 
husband  to  hate,  shall  I.''  " 

"  I  wish  you'd  be  sensible,  Charlie,"  she  said, 
slowly,  "  and  not  talk  to  me  about  marriage.  I 
could  never  love  you;  and  knowing  this,  you  surely 
wouldn't  want  to  marry  me.''  It's  unthinkable 
to  my  mind." 

He  laughed  a  little.  "  But  not  to  mine.  Do 
you  suppose  I  don't  think  of  it  all  the  time.^*  I 
never  made  any  pretense  to  know  what  women 
are,  or  what  they  think,  but  I  know  what  they 
do  and   that's  enough.     You'll   marry   me   some 


132  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

day,  Norah,  and  you'll  be  happy.     That's  a  proph- 
ecy." 

"  But  not  one  to  be  fulfilled,"  she  cried. 

He  left  the  luxurious  home  with  his  customary 
manner  and  looked  up  at  it  from  the  sidewalk. 
It  was  a  beautiful  home,  and  Norah,  as  he  knew, 
reveled  in  the  luxury  attainable  only  through 
wealth.  It  was  one  thing  to  refuse  him  when  she 
was  herself  able  to  live  in  her  own  world,  but 
what,  he  wondered,  would  she  say  on  the  day  that 
saw  the  downfall  of  her  hopes  and  he  as  her  hus- 
band alone  offered  her  the  way  of  escape.^ 

He  walked  to  his  hotel  happily  enough  reveling 
in  the  thought  that  the  woman  he  loved  would 
inevitably  have  to  accept  him.  He  was  pos- 
sessed of  the  strength  of  the  ardent,  impatient 
man  controlled  and  concealed  from  the  world  by 
indomitable  force  of  will.  Men  called  him  a  rock 
of  strength  when  he  was  in  reality  a  living  vol- 
cano. 


CHAPTER  VII 

CONCERNING    TOMCOD 

"  Remember  that  you  are  an  actor  in  a  drama,  of  such  a  kind  as 
the  author  pleases  to  make  it.  If  short,  of  a  short  one;  if  long,  of  a 
long  one.  If  it  be  his  pleasure  that  you  should  act  a  poor  man,  a 
cripple,  a  governor,  or  a  private  person,  see  that  you  act  it  naturally. 
For  this  is  your  business,  to  act  well  with  the  character  assigned 
you;  to  choose  it  is  another's."  —  Epictelus. 


A 


BOUT  a  week  after  his  defeat  as  a  book 
agent,  an  advertisement  in  the  Times 
attracted   Chester's  notice.     It  ran  thus: 


Discreet  person  of  high  moral  character 
wanted  to  act  as  companion  to  a  gentleman 
addicted  to  drink.     Apply,  etc. 

By  this  time  Chester  had  learned  that  modesty 
as  to  personal  merit  should  not  be  used  in  answer- 
ing help-wanted  advertisements.  He  indicted 
a  letter  in  which  he  set  forth  his  reasons  for  con- 
sidering himself  suitable  for  the  place  and  re- 
ceived two  days  later  an  answer.  He  was  bidden 
call  at  Haven  Avenue,  Harlem,  and  there  found 
an  elderly  woman  by  the  name  of  Mrs.  Congdon, 
who  awaited  him.  Briefly  she  admitted  that  her 
son  Alfred,  aged  four  and  forty,  had  inherited  an 


134  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

appetite  for  alcohol  which  divers  companions  had 
been  unable  to  eradicate.  Chester's  appearance 
and  physique  pleased  her  and  he  was  engaged 
without  references  (all  her  worst  young  men  had 
come  best  equipped  with  them,  she  explained)  at 
a  salary  of  thirty  dollars  per  month. 

That  night  his  baggage  was  transferred  from 
his  room  and  he  entered  upon  his  duties.  Alfred 
Congdon,  called  invariably  by  all  his  friends  Al, 
proved  to  be  a  rosy-faced,  cheerful  little  man, 
whose  one  aim  was  to  procure  alcoholic  stimulant. 
He  declared  without  shame  that  but  for  his 
mother's  view  he  would  prefer  to  live  and  die  in 
one  glorious  orgy  of  intoxication.  Good  rye,  he 
averred,  and  his  mother  was  fain  to  agree  with 
him,  developed  musical  possibilities  which  so- 
briety allowed  to  remain  unsuspected.  But  for  a 
fund  of  salacious  anecdotes,  Congdon  was  a  pleas- 
ant enough  companion  and  grew  attached  to  his 
stronger  minded  cicerone.  The  Congdon  home 
life,  typical  of  the  middle  class,  was  happy  if  dull. 
The  old  lady  was  exceedingly  fond  of  her  son  and 
thought  she  could  not  prove  it  better  than  by 
striving  to  please  him  with  her  cooking.  When 
she  was  not  overloading  his  stomach  she  was 
thinking  of  what  she  was  pleased  to  term  his  poor 


CONCERNING  TOMCOD         135 

soul.  Chester  had  been  three  days  there  and  had 
seen  no  sign  of  Al's  passion  for  Uquor  being  offered 
an  opportunity  to  develop.  The  man  was  al- 
lowed no  money  and  it  seemed  he  was  happy 
enough,  without.  Mrs.  Congdon,  hearing  this, 
shook  her  head.  "  You  watch,"  she  said,  "  and 
I  will  pray." 

Al's  one  hobby  was  fishing.  For  hours  on  end 
he  would  sit  at  the  river's  side  in  Fort  Washington 
Park  hardby  his  house  and  fish  for  tomcod.  There 
were  other  hopeful  anglers  to  be  seen  all  engaged 
on  this  rare  pastime.  Shad  have  well-nigh  de- 
serted the  lordly  Hudson,  and  only  the  tomcod 
braves  the  waters  that  once  ran  in  fresh  from  the 
sea  but  are  now  polluted  from  oil  tanks,  sugar  re- 
fineries, glucose  and  chemical  factories  and  other 
marks  of  commercial  prosperity.  Possibly  to 
some  reflective,  meditative  minds  a  pleasure  may 
be  gained  from  the  capture  of  these  bony,  ugly 
little  fish,  but  it  was  a  tame  sport  to  a  man  like 
Chester,  who  had  whipped  Adirondack  streams  for 
trout,  killed  salmon  in  Scottish  lochs,  sturgeon  in 
Norwegian  fjords  and  fished  Florida  waters  for 
tarpon.  But  Al  was  a  sanguine  angler,  although 
possessed  of  mean  skill  in  his  hobby,  and  not  a 
tomcod  in  the  river  but  knew  his  bait  and  nibbled 


136  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

at  it  with  leisurely  indifference.  Al  lived  in  the 
hope  that  some  day  he  would  catch  a  tomcod  and 
take  it  home  in  triumph  to  his  mother. 

As  Chester  sat  there  many  an  idle  morning 
staring  at  the  Jersey  shore  opposite,  he  found 
himself  becoming  interested  in  its  beauties.  Far 
to  the  south  the  Edgewater  ferry  crawled  back- 
ward and  forward,  and  tall  chimneys  spoiled  the 
little  settlement  that  the  New  York  of  another 
generation  knew  as  Pleasant  Valley  and  earlier 
still  as  Tillietudlem. 

To  the  north  of  it  the  rising  road  merged  into 
the  Palisades,  now  covered  with  luxuriant  autumn 
foliage.  He  had  often  ascended  the  winding  road 
in  his  automobile  and  remembered  it  principally 
as  a  weary  way  where  speed  must  be  controlled  and 
high-powered  cars  trailed  closely  by  a  policeman 
on  a  little  barking  motor  cycle.  But  with  the  aid 
of  Al's  telescope  he  perceived  from  Washington 
Point  beauties  which  were  new  to  him,  and  sweep- 
ing the  ridge  day  after  day,  came  to  feel  an  interest 
in  them.  Directly  opposite,  on  a  fine  promon- 
tory, stood  the  ruins  of  what  seemed  an  old  stone 
building;  and  below  this  and  utterly  without 
communication  with  the  upland  world,  so  far  as 
he  could  see,  was  a  little  village  under  the  Pali- 


CONCERNING  TOMCOD         137 

sades,  hidden  among  tulip  trees  and  sumach  and 
old  fruit  trees.  It  was  a  little  settlement  whose 
white  houses  ran  to  the  water's  edge  and  had  each 
a  pier  running  out  Into  the  river.  There  was  never 
a  sign  of  life  to  be  seen  and  only  ascending  spirals 
of  smoke  showed  them  to  be  inhabited  dwellings. 

"  Al,"  he  said  one  day,  "  have  you  ever  been 
over  there.'*  "     He  pointed  to  the  hidden  village. 

Al  shook  his  head.  He  had  the  New  Yorkers' 
tolerant  scorn  for  Jersey.  "  This,"  said  Al,  intent 
on  his  line,  "  is  good  enough  for  me."  A  moment 
later,  seeing  that  Chester  was  still  gazing  at  the 
shore  opposite,  he  elaborated,  "  Campers  go  over 
there  in  the  summer." 

"  Shall  we  take  a  boat  and  explore.'*  "  Chester 
asked. 

"  Not  for  me,"  Al  remarked  firmly. 

A  day  or  so  later  his  keeper  perceived  that  Al 
had  managed  to  obtain  some  forbidden  stimulant 
and  guessed  that  an  elderly  angler  who  sat  close 
by  had  been  generous.  When  this  proved  to  be 
the  case  the  man  was  warned  and  poor  Al  dragged 
from  his  favorite  perch  and  taken  out  of  tempta- 
tion's zone.  For  two  days  Al  sulked  and  tried 
to  outwit  the  other,  but  there  was  never  a  ruse 
but  Chester  found  it  out,  and  he  gradually  grew 


138  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

more  content  and  listened  eagerly  to  a  proposi- 
tion which  had  the  capture  of  fish  for  its  end. 

"  They  tell  me,"  Chester  began,  "  that  tomcod 
are  running  fewer  every  year."  Al  assented. 
"  That  is  so,"  he  remarked  regretfully. 

"  It's  easy  to  see  why,"  Chester  told  him. 
"  There  are  too  many  fishermen  this  side  of  the 
water  and  too  much  traffic.  The  tomcod,  I  judge, 
is  a  wily  beast  and  knows  that  as  well  as  we  do, 
and  he  spends  his  happy  days  on  the  Jersey  shore. 
They  probably  lie  over  there  by  the  shoal." 

"  I  wonder  if  they  do,"  Alfred  mused.  He 
looked  at  the  unknown  village  with  interest.  It 
had  been  his  ambition  for  years  to  carry  home 
a  string  of  tomcod  victims  to  his  prowess.  Ches- 
ter's manner  greatly  impressed  him. 

"  I  believe  you're  right,"  he  said  with  convic- 
tion. 

"  We'll  get  a  boat  and  row  over,"  Chester  af- 
firmed, "  and  Heaven  only  knows  what  other  fish 
we'll  catch.    I'll  talk  to  your  mother  about  it." 

Mrs.  Congdon  reposed  more  confidence  in  him 
than  in  any  previous  companion  engaged  for  her 
son.  She  gave  consent,  hoping  that  her  boy's 
soul  and  body  would  benefit  by  the  change.  The 
following  day  saw  the  two  men    heading  for  the 


CONCERNING  TOMCOD         139 

other  shore,  Al  a  little  anxious  lest  while  he  was 
absent  some  friend  might  make  an  unparalleled 
catch,  and  Chester  openly  elated  at  leaving  the 
monotony  of  Point  Washington  behind. 

Half  an  hour  later  they  tied  up  the  boat  at  one 
of  the  piers  at  the  little  village  of  Undercliff  and 
received  permission  from  the  owner  to  fish  there- 
from. He  was  an  old  man  who  saw  few  strange 
faces  nowaday,  and  welcomed  the  opportunity, 
so  dear  to  such  ancients,  to  talk  of  other  days  when 
the  opposite  shore  was  barer  of  buildings  and  only 
great  estates  marched  to  the  water's  edge.  In 
his  pleasure  at  being  relieved  from  Al's  sole  com- 
pany Chester's  pouch  was  at  the  other  man's 
service,  and  Al,  whose  nature  was  not  acquisitive, 
settled  himself  down  to  fish.  It  was  a  day  in  his 
after  life  often  referred  to  with  reverence;  for  his 
enticing  hook  had  no  sooner  settled  down  into 
Jersey  ooze  than  a  foolish  eel,  dissatisfied  with  his 
condition  in  life,  seized  on  it  and  was  hauled  to 
the  surface,  the  first  of  his  kind  that  ever  left  the 
water  tribute  to  Al's  anglership.  A  new  Al  was 
bom.  The  tomcod,  bony,  execrable  fish,  hard  to 
find  and  worthless  when  found,  was  eliminated 
from  Congdon's  mind.  "  Let  him,"  said  Al,  whose 
turgid  thoughts  might  hardly  find  fitting  expres- 


140  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

sion  in  words,  *'  let  him  roam  the  river  uncared 
for.  I  have  a  nobler  quarry."  These  thoughts 
passed  through  Al's  mind  with  lightning  rapidity, 
but  what  he  translated  for  Chester's  benefit  was 
more  colloquially  expressed.  "  Me,"  said  Al  con- 
cisely, "  for  eels  from  now  on."  He  decided  to 
take  eels  of  all  sizes,  colors  and  dispositions  to  his 
mother,  that  she  might  exercise  her  skill  on  their 
preparation  for  the  table.  Al  was  hoarse  with 
emotion.  He  called  Chester  to  him.  "  There's  no 
room  for  passengers  in  our  boat,"  he  said  darkly, 
nodding  in  the  direction  of  his  old  haunt,  where 
benighted  men  still  fished  for  tomcod. 

With  easy  mind  Chester  left  him  and  started 
to  explore.  It  was  late  autumn  and  the  foliage 
was  still  beautiful  in  its  many  tones  of  red  and 
gold,  and  he  explored  the  narrow  path  until  it 
wound  gradually  to  the  Englewood  road  at  the 
Palisade's  summit.  Old  and  untouched  by  modern 
improvements,  the  white  cottages  of  the  hidden 
village,  sheltered  by  enveloping  trees  from  a  too 
close  observation,  were  utterly  unlike  anything 
in  the  neighborhood  of  New  York.  He  sat  down 
and  puffed  at  his  pipe  with  calm  enjoyment. 
Sometimes  the  crackling  branches  overhead  spoke 
of   the  passage  of  the  thrifty  squirrel  garnering 


CONCERNING  TOMCOD         141 

stores  against  the  coming  winter.  And  the  rus- 
tling of  the  undergrowth  near  him  aroused  his  at- 
tention and  he  saw  a  red  fox  cross  the  path,  chicken 
in  mouth,  and  disappear  into  the  denser  brush 
that  lay  in  the  shadows  of  the  tall  cliffs.  A  few 
minutes  later  an  angry  woman,  axe  in  hand,  ran 
toward  him,  lamenting  that  reynard  had  slain 
six  pullets.  And  just  across  the  river  lay  bustling 
New  York  and  the  tall  apartment  houses  of  Har- 
lem. 

And  one  morning  he  came  upon  a  little  grave- 
yard filled  with  the  mouldering  tombs  of  villagers 
who  had  been  a  century  dead,  men  perhaps  who 
remembered  the  Revolution  and  when  New  York 
lay  far  to  the  south  and  their  village  had  boasted 
better  fishing  and  more  inhabitants.  But  now  it 
was  a  forgotten  hamlet  whose  place  in  the  world 
of  work  was  taken  from  it,  and  like  the  yellow 
leaves  of  autumn  was  passed  into  decay.  Fifty 
years  before,  when  the  shad  fishers  had  come  there 
from  the  south  and  their  boats  were  moored  at  the 
piers,  it  had  been  a  place  of  fierce  passions  and 
lawless  brawls.  But  kindly  time  had  left  it  as 
peaceful  and  gentle  as  the  old  villagers  themselves, 
an  ideal  place  for  quiet  picnicking  and  woodland 
rambles. 


142  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

The  ideal  weather  made  these  daily  excursions 
very  pleasant.  Al  was  happy,  and  the  motor  boats 
which  came  close  to  the  other  shore  never  both- 
ered him  here.  One  day,  when  they  were  cross- 
ing and  Al  was  at  the  oars,  a  fast  motor  launch 
nearly  ran  them  down.  Chester  turned  his  glass 
on  the  craft  and  opened  his  mouth  to  shout  a 
fitting  rebuke,  but  thought  better  of  It  and  en- 
couraged Al  to  fresh  efforts.  Presently  Chester 
saw  that  the  offending  launch  had  turned  and 
was  coming  down  the  river  again.  He  thereupon 
relieved  Al  of  his  labor  and  rowed  across  with 
even  sweep.  But  as  the  launch  neared  him  he 
caught  a  crab  and  lost  an  oar.  Al's  sense  of  humor 
seized  on  the  occasion  but  was  banished  when  he 
was  informed  that  with  only  a  single  oar  he  had 
an  excellent  chance  of  drifting  into  the  path  of  a 
big  boat.  At  once  he  raised  his  voice,  and  the 
fast  launch  slowed  down  and  came  toward  them. 
The  only  occupants  were  a  slim  golden-haired 
girl   and   two  excited   children. 

Al  experienced  a  greater  respect  when  the  chil- 
dren spoke  to  Chester  as  a  long  lost  friend  and 
even  the  lady  bowed.  Al  was  not  to  know  that  a 
premeditated  accident  had  brought  disaster  on 
a  finished  waterman. 


CONCERNING  TOMCOD         143 

"  I've  just  lost  an  oar,"  said  the  unblushing 
Chester.  "  I  think  if  you'd  be  so  kind  you  could 
get  it  for  us;   otherwise  we  may  drift  out  to  sea." 

"  Certainly,"  the  girl  answered  graciously  and 
then  a  look  of  hopelessness  came  over  her  face. 
"  The  engine  has  stopped,"  she  ejaculated. 

"It  only  wants  cranking,"  Chester  said. 

"  I'm  afraid  of  that  horrid  wheel,"  she  con- 
fessed. "  Sometimes  it  goes  off  with  such  a  jerk 
that  it  nearly  breaks  one's  arm,  and  sometimes 
it  backfires." 

Chester  knew  of  the  contrary  ways  of  marine 
motors  and  the  danger  often  attending  the  crank- 
ing of  high-powered  ones.  She  had  been  running 
her  engine  light  and  had  turned  off  too  much  of 
the  mixture.  He  tied  his  little  boat  to  the  stern 
rail  of  the  launch,  and  climbed  aboard,  motioning 
Al  to  stay  where  he  was.  The  heavy  fly-wheel 
went  off  with  a  whirr  at  half  a  turn.  The  oar 
was  recovered  without  difficulty  and  Chester 
found  himself  possessed  of  a  strong  disinclination  to 
leave  the  company  of  the  woman  he  had  married. 

"  How  long  does  It  take  you  to  get  to  Yonkers 
from  the  Point .''  "  he  asked. 

"  I've  never  tried  it,"  she  said.  She  looked  at 
him  for  a  moment  and  then  asked  with  a  mo- 


144  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

mentary  hesitation,  "  Would  you  care  to  time  it 


now 


"  Thank  you,"  he  returned  gravely,  taking  out 
his  watch. 

She  glanced  astern  at  Al.  "  Your  man  will  see 
that  that  painter  doesn't  foul  the  propeller  as  we 
turn,  won't  he?"  she  asked. 

He  allowed  the  phrase  "  your  man  "  to  pass 
and  ordered  the  gratified  inebriate  to  exercise 
due  care.  Then  he  fell  to  bitter  reflection  that,  so 
far  from  Al  being  his  man,  the  position  was  re- 
versed. The  mistake  she  made  was  easily  ex- 
plained. Chester  was  extremely  well  dressed, 
while  the  other  exercised  a  lack  of  care  which 
might  well  enough  pass  in  a  boatman.  She  no- 
ticed presently  that  there  was  a  string  of  fish  in 
the  little  boat. 

"  Have  you  been  fishing?  "  she  asked. 

"  He  was,"  returned  Chester.  "  I  was  ashore 
exploring  a  lost  village."  He  waxed  enthusiastic 
in  its  description. 

"  How  quaint,"  she  commented,  "  and  to  think 
I've  never  been  there." 

"  Why  don't  you  run  the  launch  over  there 
some  day  and  prove  my  words  true?  "  he  in- 
quired eagerly. 


CONCERNING  TOMCOD         145 

"  Some  day  I  may,"  she  said.  "  Anything  that 
offers  rest  appeals  to  me," 

He  wondered  if  her  business  worries  still  op- 
pressed her.  It  was  very  strange  to  sit  there 
knowing  so  much  of  her  affairs  and  unable  to  say 
whether  or  not  she  was  still  his  wife.  He  had  not 
been  to  see  Enderby  for  some  time  and  although 
there  had  been  no  communication  from  Mr.  Cos- 
way  up  to  that  date,  much  might  have  occurred 
since  then.  He  did  not  know  what  formalities  it 
might  be  necessary  for  him  to  take.  He  only 
knew  that  it  would  be  unnecessary  for  him  to 
make  an  appearance.  She  was  probably  still  Mrs. 
Richard   Chester. 

"  Here  is  Yonkers,"  she  said,  breaking  in  upon 
his  thoughts. 

He  looked  up  with  a  sigh.  Ten  years  ago,  when 
he  had  come  of  age,  much  of  his  income  was  de- 
rived from  land  in  the  prosperous  riverside  town. 
He  remembered  mortgaging  two  acres  of  land 
behind  the  ugly  sugar  refinery  to  finance  some 
wildcat  scheme  that  caught  his  youthful  fancy. 

It  should,  had  he  not  played  the  fool,  have  be- 
come his  wife's  and  passed  to  the  children  in- 
heriting his  ancient  name.  And,  he  wondered, 
would  he  ever  meet  a  woman  who  embodied  in  so 


146  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

charming  a  personality  such  courage  and  strength 
as  this  girl  standing  at  the  wheel  of  her  fast  boat 
almost  at  his  side.  He  cursed  himself  for  a  coward 
that  he  had  not  strength  enough  to  avoid  tempta- 
tion. It  had  been  a  deliberate  running  into  temp- 
tation, he  told  himself.  He  was  scathing  when  this 
mood  settled  on  him.  With  what  high  hopes  had 
he  not  left  this  girl  on  that  eventful  night,  and 
to  what  had  his  efforts  brought  him?  To  be  a 
keeper  to  smug  bourgeois  Al,  riding  contentedly 
astern!  It  was  a  mood  of  desolation  and  depre- 
ciation which  allowed  him  to  call  no  witnesses  for 
the  defence.  In  reality  his  life  had  many  things 
which  proved  him  of  high  courage  and  honor, 
but  these  were  lost  sight  of  in  the  contemplation 
of  the  disasters  to  which  carelessness  had  brought 
him.  He  looked  at  the  two  pretty  children  and 
thought  that  here  was  something  cut  out  of  his 
life  which  might  have  helped  him. 

As  she  passed  Undercliff,  the  girl  ran  in  under 
the  Jersey  shore.  "  I  think  I  shall  take  your 
advice  and  explore,"  she  exclaimed.  "  Shall  we?  " 
she  asked  of  the  children. 

"  Are  there  bears  there  ?  "  Cyril  demanded. 

"  I  saw  a  fox  there  only  this  morning,"  said 
Chester. 


CONCERNING  TOMCOD         147 

"  I  hope  you  aren't  exaggerating,"  the  girl  said. 

"  Truth  tempered  with  enthusiasm,"  he  re- 
turned.    "  That  only." 

"  Then  I  shall  come,"  she  answered.  *'  I  sup- 
pose my  mechanician  will  try  to  dissuade  me  — 
he  always  does  - —  but  if  it's  fine  I  shall  come." 

"Why  bring  an  unconvinced  mechanician.''" 
he  demanded. 

"  Cranking,"  she  said  briefly.  "  The  engine  gets 
too  hot  if  I  run  her  all  the  time  I  shall  be  ashore." 

"  It  so  happens,"  he  said  eagerly,  "  that  I  shall 
be  there  tomorrow,  and  I  shall  revel  in  cranking, 
if  I  may." 

"  I  really  couldn't  think  of  bothering  you,"  she 
answered  a  little  stiffly.  She  suddenly  recollected 
that  she  knew  absolutely  nothing  of  this  rather 
assured  stranger.  His  face  fell  and  she  grew  more 
gracious.  She  remembered  that  he  had  been  very 
kind  to  'Ginia. 

"  If  I  come  I  may  be  glad  of  your  aid." 

"  Thank  you,"  he  said  brightly.  *'  I'm  sure 
Cyril  will  enjoy  it."  He  stepped  from  the  launch 
and  cast  off  in  a  happier  frame  of  mind.  She 
had  just  the  amount  of  dignity  and  just  the 
amount  of  vivacity  that  he  admired  in  a  woman. 
Al  gazed  after  her  in  evident  admiration. 


148  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"Who's  your  little  lady  friend?"  asked  Al 
with  a  knowing  wink.  "  Didn't  introduce  her 
because  you  was  afraid  I'd  cut  you  out,  I  sup- 
pose? " 

"  Al,"  Chester  warned  him  gravely,  "  when 
you  speak  of  that  lady,  let  me  hear  more  respect 
in  your  voice," 

"And  if  not?"  Al  retorted  with  a  species  of 
weak   defiance. 

"  If  not,"  Chester  returned,  "  I  shall  drop  you 
overboard  and  see  you  sink  to  tomcod  land  with- 
out a  qualm," 

"  I  believe  you'd  do  it,"  Al  declared.  He  was 
a  little  afraid  of  his  keeper. 

The  next  day  Al,  industriously  angling  for  re- 
luctant eels,  waxed  conversationally  inclined  and 
indulged  his  fancy  in  dreams  of  what  he  would  do 
with  Rockefeller's  wealth.  But  he  found  no  sat- 
isfaction in  describing  his  doings  under  those 
happy  circumstances  to  a  man  who  was  not  lis- 
tening. He  wondered  why  his  companion  gazed 
so  steadfastly  to  the  southeast.  The  fast  motor 
boat  answered  him  and  he  beheld  Chester  row 
out  to  it  and  bring  the  three  passengers  ashore 
in  the  small  boat,  tying  the  power  launch  to  a 
mooring. 


CONCERNING  TOMCOD         149 

Norah  gave  Al  a  pleasant  smile  as  she  passed 
but  Cyril  caught  sight  of  an  eel  who  was  an  un- 
conscionable time  a-dying.  Its  struggles  fasci- 
nated him.     "  May  I  stay  and  fish?  "  he  pleaded. 

"  Sure  you  can,  if  the  lady  don't  mind,"  returned 
the  gratified  Al. 

"  It  will  be  quite  safe,"  Chester  assured  her, 
and  Cyril  glanced  at  him  with  gratitude.  He  had 
often  longed  to  dangle  his  legs  over  deep  water  or 
water  at  least  deep  enough  to  drown  him,  and  here 
was  an  opportunity!  When  his  aunt  and  the 
others  had  disappeared,  he  opened  rapid-fire 
questions  on  his  companion;  and  Al,  for  the  one 
time  in  his  career,  found  a  listener  who  credited 
him  with  a  knowledge  piscatorial  and  listened 
with  respect  when  he  talked  of  the  capture  of  eels 
and  the  wiles  of  the  tomcod. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


CAPTAIN    OF    HIS    SOUL 


"  At  what  do  you  gaze?  "  asked  the  Sage.  "  For  clouds  with 
silver  linings,"  said  the  young  man.  "  Well,  it  is  to  aim  high,"  the 
Sage  replied,  "  but  do  you  not  see  that  the  earth  on  which  you  stand 
has  grains  of  gold?  " 

NORAH  was  simply  dressed  and  Chester 
thought  he  had  rarely  seen  a  girl  look 
more  charming  and  care-free.  She  was 
tanned  by  the  sun  into  that  golden,  unfreckled 
brown  so  rarely  seen  in  blondes,  and  on  her  small 
brown  hand  was  his  signet  ring.  When  she  caught 
him  gazing  at  it  she  unobtrusively  drew  her  hand 
away.  What  interpretation  might  he  put  on  such 
an  action,  he  pondered. 

When,  an  hour  later,  they  sat  by  the  ruins  of  an 
old  stone-crusher,  now  mercifully  crumbling  into 
desuetude  after  vandal  effort  to  spoil  the  towering 
cliffs  behind  it,  she  admitted  that  he  made  a  very 
agreeable  companion.  'Ginia,  immersed  in  the 
creation  of  a  drama  which  she  was  determined  to 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         151 

enact  later  with  her  brother,  took  little  interest 
in  the  conversation  of  the  others. 

"  It's  rather  curious,"  reflected  Norah,  "  that 
I  should  be  sitting  in  this  new  country  talking  to 
a  stranger,  isn't  it?  " 

"  I'm  not  a  stranger,"  he  protested,  "  and  be- 
side, things  are  always  ordained." 

She  looked  at  him  apprehensively.  Remarks 
like  these  usually  foreshadowed  attempts  at  flirta- 
tion. She  was  not  sure  that  it  was  wise  of  her  to 
forsake  the  conventions  as  she  had  done  in  this 
instance. 

"  Now  follows  the  remark  that  we  met  in  a 
previous  existence,"  she  said. 

"  I  haven't  said  that  for  years,"  he  laughed. 
"  I  think  I  left  off  in  my  teens." 

"  I  wonder  what  you  were  like  then,"  she  said. 
"  I  suppose  you  were  in  your  teens  once." 

His  face  darkened.  "  I  was  a  creature  of  silly 
enthusiasms  and  blissful  beliefs  that  came  to 
nothing." 

"  There  are  no  silly  enthusiasms  before  one  is 
twenty,"  she  answered  gently.  "  There's  always 
something  rather  beautiful  about  our  beliefs 
then." 

"  I'm  afraid  my  beliefs  weren't  very  practical," 


152  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

he  said.  "I  —  well,  I  wasted  my  opportunities 
in  the  approved  fashion." 

"  You  talk  as  though  you'd  suffered  complete 
shipwreck."  she  remarked. 

"  I  have,"  he  returned. 

She  looked  at  him  sharply.  "  Really  and 
truly.?" 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  "  really  and  truly." 

"  Did  you  strike  a  rock  ?  " 

"  I  drifted  on  to  it  instead,"  he  returned.  "  It 
robs  me  of  my  chance  to  complain  of  bad 
luck.  There's  always  some  excuse  for  the  mari- 
ner who  takes  his  vessel  along  cheerily  and  then 
strikes  a  snag,  but  none  for  the  man  who  drifts." 

"Are  we  being  serious.?"  she  demanded.  "I 
hadn't  the  smallest  idea  that  we  were  going  to 
take  each  other  seriously." 

"  I  spoke  the  truth,"  he  answered,  "  but  I 
should  hardly  count  it  as  serious.  I  am  not  claim- 
ing a  tragical  setting  for  my  story.  Farce,  I  im- 
agine, is  more  fitting." 

"  If  you  are  speaking  the  truth,"  she  replied 
gravely,  "  there  seems  little  enough  farce  in  it  as 
I  understand  the  word." 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  Sometimes  I 
think  that  our  struggles  are  just  to  give  the  Olym- 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         153 

pians  something  to  laugh  at.  I  am  sure  any  self- 
respecting  god  on  Olympus  must  have  laughed 
at  mine." 

"  I  don't  think  I  like  such  flippancy,"  she  re- 
turned. "  There's  a  false  note  in  it.  There  can 
be  nothing  so  tragically  awful  as  the  failure  of  a 
man  who  is  not  a  fool,  or  a  woman  either,  for  that 
matter." 

"  You  haven't  failed,"  he  said. 

"  I'm  rather  afraid  sometimes,"  she  admitted. 
"  When  I  am  triste  I  feel  like  a  small  boat 
flying  from  pirates  who  will  eventually  overtake 
her  and  sink  her."  She  thought  with  some  trepi- 
dation of  Renalls'  failure  to  believe  in  her  Bra- 
zilian venture  and  wondered  whether  her  own 
belief  in  it  was  born  merely  of  impatience  of  op- 
position. 

She  turned  to  her  companion  with  a  smile. 
"  This  is  a  singularly  bright  and  entertaining 
conversation,  isn't  it.''  I  think  we  have  both  been 
saying  rather  silly  things."  She  looked  at  him 
critically  and  found  no  trace  of  failure  in  his 
appearance  or  dress.  "  I  won't  believe  that  you 
have  failed,  and  I  won't  believe  that  I  shall 
fail." 

He  pointed  to  the  river  before  him;    there  was 


154  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Al  laboriously  rowing  upstream  at  the  dictates  of 
his  new  friend. 

"  All  that's  left  of  my  vessel,"  he  said. 
"  At  any  rate  you  are  still  the  captain  of  it," 
she  told  him.     He  looked  at  unskilful  Al  sourly. 
There  was  his  captain,  did  she  but  know  it.     It 
was  a  tragical  farce  after  all. 

When  he  looked  at  her  again  he  saw  that  she 
was  sitting,  her  hands  clasped  around  her  knees, 
staring  into  the  distance  and  seeing  nothing.  So 
frail  and  small  she  seemed  to  him  that  he  was 
conscious  of  a  rush  of  tenderness  for  her.  Why 
had  she  been  foolish  enough  to  put  to  sea,  he 
wondered,  and  risk  the  shoal  waters.  Presently 
her  black  mood  vanished  and  she  pointed  to  a 
motor  boat  rushing  by  on  the  other  shore. 

"  The  fastest  in  the  world,"  she  cried.  "  I  should 
love  to  go  aboard  her." 

"  She's  very  uncomfortable,"  he  assured  her. 
"And  what  with  spray  and  vibration,  about  the  most 
miserable  craft  for  a  lady  I  could  conceive  of." 

"  You've  been  aboard  ?  "  she  demanded. 

"  Often,"  he  said,  carelessly  forgetting  that  here 
was  a  page  of  his  former  life. 

"  Mr.  Kerrison  belongs  to  the  Knickerbocker 
Club,  doesn't  he.?" 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         155 

"  Yes,"  Chester  said,  still  intent  on  watching 
the  launch  race  by.  The  girl  looked  at'  him  with 
interest.  This  established  his  social  status  with- 
out question.  She  ventured  the  inquiry,  "  Did 
you  too?  " 

"  Yes,"  he  said  and  then  stopped  short.  "  Be- 
fore the  wreck."  He  was  annoyed  at  being  caught. 
It  was  ludicrous  to  think  of  Al's  companion  as  a 
member  of  New  York's  exclusive  clubs.  "  Of 
course  that's  all  in  the  long  ago,"  he  ex- 
plained. 

Many  men  had  complained  that  she  took  no 
interest  in  their  affairs;  and  such  a  charge  was 
as  a  rule  just,  because  she  rarely  felt  sufficient 
curiosity  to  warrant  it,  but  there  was  something 
about  this  man,  of  whose  name  even  she  was  ig- 
norant, which  excited  an  uncommon  degree  of 
interest.  Perhaps  he  had  indeed  suffered  a  ship- 
wreck. In  an  age  when  fashion  marks  with  so 
arbitrary  a  hand  the  habitat  of  the  socially  elect, 
it  was  more  than  strange  to  meet  a  man  like  this 
accompanied  by  a  shabby  boatman  and  making 
holiday  on  the  Hudson.  And  if  he  had  suffered 
shipwreck,  why  was  he  still  pursuing  the  drifting 
policy.''  He  grew  conscious  of  her  meditations 
concerning  him. 


156  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"I'm  afraid  I'm  not  very  satisfactory,"  he 
apologized. 

"  I  think  there  exists  in  most  women,"  she  said 
gently,  "  a  mania  for  wanting  to  set  things  right 
and  generally  to  understudy  Providence.  I  don't 
think  we  ever  believe  that  any  hopes  are  forlorn 
or  any  shipwreck  complete.  I  don't  believe  it 
of  you." 

"  You  are  very  good,"  he  said  gratefully.  "  I 
think  women  are  too  kind  in  their  thoughts  to 
failures,  but  when  ever  did  a  shipwrecked  mariner 
find  the  future  rosy.?  " 

"  You  didn't  drown,"  she  returned,  "  and  you 
are  strong  and  young,  and,"  she  pointed  to  New 
York,  "  look  what  lies  before  you !  This  is  not  a 
desert  island." 

"  You  mean,"  he  said  slowly,  "  why  don't  I  go 
and  work  instead  of  talking  .'*  " 

"  It's  the  only  way  to  get  even  with  fate,"  she 
cried. 

"  Would  you  believe  I  am  working  at  the  pres- 
ent moment.''  "  he  demanded. 

"  How  can  you  be.''  "  she  exclaimed. 

He  pointed  to  Al,  rowing  back  with  the  tide  to 
his  fishing  pier.  "  I  am  that  man's  attendant," 
he  said.     "  I  look  after  the  poor  little  beast  be- 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         157 

cause  he's  weaker  than  I  am,  and  I  get  thirty  dol- 
lars a  month  and  my  board  for  doing  it.  I'm  not 
in  the  least  proud  of  it,  but  at  least  you  will  see 
that  I  have  been  telling  you  the  truth." 

It  was  lamentable,  she  thought,  nay,  it  was 
ludicrous  that  such  a  man  should  come  to  such  a 
task.  She  did  not  know  of  the  weary  waiting 
in  outer  offices  and  the  fruitless  quests  for  work 
he  had  undertaken  before  coming  to  the  Cong- 
dons'  home.  She  did  not  know  how  hard  New 
York  can  be  to  those  without  economic  value,  nor 
of  the  grim  shadow  of  Blackwell's  Island  which 
looms  before  the  destitute.  She  cast  about  her 
instantly  for  something  which  might  better  be- 
come him.  Renalls,  she  supposed,  would  have 
some  opening,  but  then  dismissed  the  thought 
when  she  remembered  the  relation  in  which  Re- 
nalls stood  to  her.  He  would  hate  this  good- 
looking  assured  man  more  than  he  did  Monmouth. 
It  occurred  to  her  that  some  opening  might  easily 
be  found  in  Brazil,  where  he  could  forget  his  failure 
and  start  anew.  But  she  judged  from  his  look 
that  he  might  not  care  to  feel  indebted  to  her 
expressed  pity  and  interest.  It  would  be  better 
to  wait  until  Mendoza  came  over,  as  he  was  to  do 
early  in  the  new  year. 


158  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I  have  a  friend  who  has  large  mining  inter- 
ests in  South  America,"  she  said.  "  If  you  care  to 
give  me  your  address  I  will  write  to  him  about 
you."  For  a  moment  he  was  confused.  He 
could  be  neither  Richard  Chester  nor  Chester 
Dick.  He  fell  back  upon  the  middle  name  of 
Vincent.  "  My  address,"  he  said,  writing  it 
down,  "  is  R.  Vincent,  care  of  W.  Biggs,  Number 
One  Wall  St."  He  looked  at  her  gratefully. 
"  It's  most  awfully  kind  of  you  to  do  this." 

"  Not  in  the  least,"  she  assured  him,  taking  the 
paper. 

She  called  her  little  niece  to  her  and  rose  to  her 
feet.  On  her  way  to  the  launch  she  said  little, 
and  Richard  unjustly  supposed  that  since  she 
now  knew  his  exact  relationship  to  Alfred  Cong- 
don  she  would  want  no  further  communication 
with  him.  He  had  not  the  heart  to  speak  of 
further  exploration  and  took  his  leave  of  her  in 
the  belief  that  the  launch  was  bearing  her  out  of 
his  sight  forever. 

Al  watched  the  boat  with  some  pride.  He  had 
a  personal  interest  in  it  and  was  amazingly  taken 
with  the  ingenuous  Cyril. 

"  That's  a  great  kid,"  he  observed  presently; 
"  he's  coming  tomorrow  with  his  own  tackle,  and 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         159 

I'm  going  to,"  Al's  voice  took  on  a  new  note  of 
pride,  "  I'm  going  to  teach  him  how  to  catch 
eels." 

"  They'll  never  come  here  again,"  Chester  ob- 
served with  quiet  certainty. 

Al  looked  at  him  inquiringly.  "  Have  you  two 
had  a  spat?  " 

"  Tomorrow,"  returned  Chester,  "  we  shall  go 
over  to  the  Bronx  and  study  animal  life  in  the 
Zoo."  He  abandoned  himself  to  gloomy  thoughts. 
Fading  from  sight  was  the  only  girl,  since  the  day 
he  had  seen  Marion  Griffiths  enter  the  enclosed 
life,  who  aroused  the  slightest  interest  in  him. 
He  was  interrupted  by  his  companion's  expostu- 
lating voice. 

"  But  I  promised  him,"  he  urged.  "  He  said 
his  mother  was  just  daffy  for  him  to  lead  the 
healthy  life,  and  he's  going  to  tell  her  all  about  me. 
He's  going  to  bring  his  tackle  and  food  out  here 
tomorrow  and  we're  going  to  spend  the  whole 
day  fishing.  I  guess  we'll  cut  out  that  monkey- 
house  business  till  some  other  day." 

"  He  won't  come,"  snapped  Chester  impa- 
tiently. "  His  aunt  as  good  as  told  me  so.  The 
Bronx  Park  for  us  tomorrow." 

Al  was   not  possessed  of  a  strong  will;    since 


160  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

birth  he  had  been  dominated  and  rarely  evinced 
powers  of  resistance.  "  I  don't  like  going  back 
on  my  word,"  he  objected. 

Chester  laughed  gently  at  him.  "  It's  all  right," 
he  said.  "  Trust  me  when  I  say  that  his  mother 
won't  let  him  come." 

For  the  first  time  since  Chester  had  known  him 
Al  was  stubborn  at  breakfast  on  the  following 
morning,  and  carried  his  point.  Al  brought  un- 
believable art  to  his  aid. 

"  Me  and  him,"  he  said,  indicating  Chester 
with  his  fork,  "  was  going  into  the  Bronx  Park 
today,  but  somehow  I  don't  feel  like  it.  The 
houses  are  hot  and  stuffy,  and  fresh  air  is  what's 
good  for  me." 

"  There's  no  necessity  to  enter  the  houses  at 
all,"  Chester  told  him.  "  There  are  plenty  of 
attractions  outside." 

"  Still  I  don't  like  the  idea  of  all  these  animals 
about,"  replied  the  evasive  Al;  "  you  can  catch 
all  sorts  of  animal  diseases  nowadays,"  he  assured 
his   mother. 

"  Don't  go,"  the  worthy  lady  said  promptly. 

"  I  won't,"  he  returned  instantly.  "  I'll  go  fish- 
ing again.  I  declare  that  Jersey  air  makes  me 
feel  fine  as  silk." 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         161 

Chester  took  his  defeat  smiling.  "  Al,"  he  said, 
"  you  have  a  cunning  I  didn't  credit  you  with." 

Mrs.  Congdon  had  gone  from  the  room  to  re- 
plenish the  plate  of  buckwheat  cakes.  Al  leaned 
over  the  table  and  spoke  seriously.  "  I  don't 
hold  with  breaking  my  word  to  kids,"  he  averred. 
"  I  told  him  I  was  coming." 

"  As  you  will,"  Chester  said  with  assumed  in- 
difference; but  as  the  time  drew  near  for  them 
to  set  out  he  caught  some  of  Al's  impatience. 
His  heart  beat  quicker  at  the  thought  that  she 
might  come  after  all.  He  told  himself  that  he 
would  be  content  to  sit  quietly  by  the  angler's 
side  and  not  expect  her  to  go  exploring.  It  was  a 
humble  frame  of  mind  for  a  Chester!  There  were 
two  weary  hours  of  waiting  at  Undercliff  before 
Al,  glass  to  eye,  espied  the  launch.  "  I  knew  that 
kid  would  come,"  he  said.  His  glass  was  quickly 
snatched  from  him.     Chester's  pilot  was  aboard. 

"  Al,"  he  said,  handing  him  the  telescope,  "  you 
are  a  great  reader  of  character  and  this  is  more 
interesting  and  uplifting  than  any  Zoo  in  any 
country." 

Only  Norah  and  the  boy  were  in  the  boat.  Vir- 
ginia, it  was  explained,  had  gone  to  a  children's 
morning  concert  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria.     Cyril's 


162  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

tackle  roused  great  enthusiasm  in  the  teacher  of 
angling  and  he  was  eager  to  get  to  work.  Cyril 
shared  his  zeal  and  presently  turned  to  Chester 
and  his  aunt.  "  Al  says,"  he  declared  politely, 
"  that  talking  frightens  the  fish." 

The  girl  looked  at  her  companion  with  a  smile. 

"  That's  a  sentence  of  banishment,  I  suppose. 
Cyril  demands  absolute  quiet.  I  had  no  idea 
fishes  were  so  sensitive.  Exploring  seems  to  be 
indicated." 

He  followed  her  past  the  cottage  and  up  the 
wooden  steps  into  the  lane.  "  I  didn't  think  you'd 
come,"  he  said,  and  she  noticed  the  half  con- 
cealed gladness  in  his  tone. 

"  Why  not.?  "  she  demanded. 

"  I  thought  when  you  found  that  I  was  only  —  " 

She  stopped  with  a  gesture,  imperiously. 
"  Don't  be  stupid,"  she  cried.  "  It  was  a  surprise, 
but  it's  a  proof  I  was  right  when  I  said  yours 
wasn't  a  shipwreck.  Anyway,"  she  added  after 
a  pause,  "  I  have  no  right  to  judge  or  offer  ad- 
vice." 

"  You're  worried .''  "  he  asked  sympathetically. 

"  I'm  not  complaining,"  she  retorted. 

"  You're  not  one  of  that  sort,"  he  answered 
deliberately. 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL  163 

"  Why  not?  "  she  asked.  "  What  do  you  know 
of  me?  To  you  I  am  absolutely  an  unknown 
quantity,  without  credentials  and  without  confi- 
dences. You  can't  know  anything  of  me  because 
I'm  no  longer  as  frank  as  I  was."  She  sighed. 
"  I'm  sorry  sometimes  that  I'm  not.  It's  much 
nicer  to  believe  everyone  is  kind  and  good  and 
above  all  that  things  are  coming  out  all  right." 

"  So  they  are,"  he  affirmed  stoutly. 

She  looked  at  him  reproachfully.  "  Oh,  my 
shipwrecked  mariner,"  she  cried,  "  what  a  recan- 
tation, what  a  heresy!  Never  was  a  gloomier 
mortal  yesterday  than  you.    Whence  this  conver- 


sion r 


"  I  was  gloomy  about  myself,  not  about  you," 
he  explained.  "  I  have  little  belief  in  myself, 
but  heaps  of  it  in  you.  I  have  tried  and  I  have 
failed.  Can  you  look  back  on  your  life  and  see 
some  big  opportunity  which  you  avoided,  or  some 
duty  which  you  shirked  ? " 

"  You  are  talking  rather  like  a  woman  writer 
in  a  magazine,"  she  said.  "  I  can  see  you  in  your 
present  mood  answering  questions  under  the  nom 
de  plume  of  Aunt  Mary  or  something  equally 
comforting." 

He  laughed  in  spite  of  himself.    "  You  haven't 


164  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

answered  Aunt  Mary's  question,"  he  reminded 
her.     "  Have  you  ever  failed  in  something  big?  " 

"  Life  isn't  made  up  of  big  things,"  she  an- 
swered. "  It's  full  of  small  unrelated  episodes, 
and  is  altogether  a  difficult  course  to  steer." 

They  were  sitting  on  the  grassy  bank  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  water,  and  he  looked  at  her 
keenly  to  discover  whether  or  not  she  was  in  a 
serious  mood.  Leaning  partly  forward,  with  one 
hand  holding  her  chin,  the  exquisite  outline  of 
her  profile  made  a  picture  that  was  not  soon  for- 
gotten. It  must  be  a  favorite  pose  with  her,  he 
judged,  since  the  miniaturist  whose  work  he  had 
stolen  had  caught  her  just  at  such  an  angle.  It 
was  a  bitter  thought  that  he  had  come  to  know 
her  at  a  time  when  his  fortune  was  gone  and  under 
conditions  which  precluded  the  seeking  of  a  closer 
acquaintance.  He  found  himself  wondering  what 
might  have  happened  had  this  meeting  taken 
place  two  or  three  years  sooner.  He  had  given 
much  consideration  to  his  promise  made  to  her 
on  the  night  destiny  had  sent  him  to  her  dwell- 
ing. It  was,  in  effect,  an  oath  not  to  recognize 
her  if  chance  brought  them  together  again,  and 
to  abrogate  all  claims  of  any  kind.  But,  he  ar- 
gued, it  was  surely  no  breach  of  this  faith  to  walk 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         165 

with  her  and  talk  to  her  when  she  was  all  uncon- 
scious of  his  identity. 

It  was  cold  comfort  to  assure  himself  that  this 
was  probably  their  last  meeting.  Such  prospects 
as  he  had,  made  a  continuance  of  their  friendship 
out  of  the  question.  She  was  rich  and  he  was 
poor;  and  there  is  no  convention  more  clearly 
defined  among  most  honorable  men  than  the  re- 
fusal to  marry  for  money.  Chester  was  one  who 
held  such  ideas.  But  he  was  sufficiently  broad- 
minded  to  view  certain  international  marriages 
without  unreasoning  dislike.  There  was  a  cousin 
of  his  —  but  for  his  brother  his  only  living  rela- 
tion —  who  had  made  such  a  match  and  was 
happy.  Her  husband  had  repaired  ancestral  halls 
with  New  York  money,  but  Chester  had  always 
held  the  transaction  an  equitable  one.  It  was  an 
old  title  whose  holders  had  held  it  honorably  since 
the  days  of  Coeur  de  Lion's  first  crusade.  And 
his  cousin's  boy,  playing  in  the  galleries  of  his 
father's  castle,  looked  up  at  soldiers,  statesmen 
and  courtiers  who  were  his  ancestors  too,  and  felt 
stirring  in  him  a  proud  childish  pleasure  all  the 
stronger  for  the  admixture  of  the  virile  blood  of 
the  dominant  people  of  the  future. 

He  was  roused  from  his  musing  by  his  compan- 


166  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

ion's  voice.  "  I  don't  like  to  think  that  you  take 
such  a  gloomy  view  of  things.  This  is  a  young 
man's  age  and  you  needn't  be  always  looking  after 
that  curious  little  man.  New  York  abounds 
in   opportunities." 

"  Under  what  nom  de  plume  do  you  write?  "  he 
asked  with  a  smile. 

"  I  hadn't  the  slightest  intention  of  being 
serious  till  you  started  it,"  she  explained.  "  Life 
is  a  hard  business,  no  matter  what  platitudes  one 
reads,  because  one  can  never  be  certain  that  one 
isn't  blundering  until  it  may  be  too  late.  The 
temptations  of  life,  for  instance,  are  not  very 
readily  seen  and  the  great  accidents  and  trage- 
dies of  life  are  not  so  marked  from  ordinary  every- 
day happenings  as  to  be  warnings  to  us." 

She  looked  up  at  him.  "  Have  you  ever  fished 
for  trout,  Mr.  Vincent?" 

"  Yes,"  he  answered  in  surprise. 

"  The  fly  that  lands  your  trout  gasping  on  the 
bank  deceives  him  because  it  is  so  exactly  like  the 
hundreds  of  other  flies  he  had  for  breakfast  all  his 
life  long.  I  sometimes  think  we  are  all  like  the 
poor  trout  that  don't  know  the  difference." 

"  This  isn't  very  cheerful,"  he  protested. 

"  I  blame  you,"  she  retorted.     "  The  fact  is, 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         167 

I  always  try  to  believe  that  we  get  some  credit 
for  good  intentions  even  if  we  blunder.  It  wouldn't 
be  just  to  blame  us  for  not  knowing  sometimes 
which  was  the  real  fly  and  which  the  artificial  one." 
He  looked  at  her  gravely;  evidently  something 
specific  was  in  her  mind.    He  quoted  the  Persian: 

"  Oh,  Thou  who  didst  with  Pitfall  and  with  Gin, 
Beset  the  Road  I  was  to  wander  in, 
Thou  wilt  not  with  Predestination  round 
Enmesh  me  and  impute  my  Fall  to  Sin?  " 

The  girl  looked  at  him  smiling.  "  I  love  Omar 
for  that  quatrain,"  she  cried.  "  I  often  picture 
him  under  the  bough  with  the  cup  of  wine  by  his 
side  and  red  and  yellow  roses  all  about  him  and  a 
great  kindliness  in  his  heart.  Of  all  the  verses  he 
wrote,  he  wanted  most  to  know  the  answer  to  that." 

"Why  should  you  be  serious.^"  Chester 
demanded  after  a  pause.  "  Haven't  you  every- 
thing.? " 

She  did  not  answer  him  immediately.  She  had 
health,  youth,  beauty  and  a  fortune.  But  her 
fortune  was  embarked  in  a  perilous  undertaking 
and  she  felt  very  deeply  the  need  of  some  intimate 
friend  in  whom  she  could  confide.  She  had  never 
realized  until  his  death  what  reliance  had  been 
placed  in  Mr.  Cosway.     She  was  handicapped  In 


168  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

her  conduct  of  the  BraziHan  venture  by  her  lack 
of  knowledge  of  the  world  of  business.  With  a 
woman's  dislike  to  letting  things  get  out  of  her 
grasp  she  was  fretting  over  details  and  neglecting 
more  important  matters.  And  she  was  conscious 
now  and  then  that  Renalls  was  watching  her  and 
noting  her  failures. 

"Why  should  you  be  serious.''"  Chester  de- 
manxded   again. 

"  I'm  not,"  she  cried,  "  and  I  can  prove  it.  I 
see  on  the  sand,  or  shingle,  or  whatever  the  mud 
on  a  river  bank  is  called,  innumerable  bottles. 
If  you  put  them  on  the  piles  and  give  me  two 
shots  to  your  one,  I  will  beat  you." 

Chester  fell  into  her  spirit  with  alacrity  and  for 
twenty  minutes  they  demolished  the  bottles  that 
campers  had  left  behind  or  the  river  given  up. 
She  owned  herself  vanquished,  and  presently  fell 
to  throwing  pieces  of  wood  into  the  outgoing  tide 
and  speculating  upon  their  adventures. 

"  If  I  were  a  Hans  Christian  Andersen,"  she 
said,  "  I  would  write  of  the  singular  things  which 
might  happen  to  them.  Some  may  get  to  Europe 
even."  She  looked  at  him  curiously.  "  By  the 
way,"  she  cried,  "  weren't  you  bound  for  the  open 
sea  when  I  met  you  first  in  the  boat.?  " 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         169 

"  If  you  hadn't  rescued  us  we  might  have  drifted 
out  to  sea,"  he  returned. 

"  You  might  have  been  drowned,"  she  said. 

"  There  would  have  been  murder  on  my  soul 
if  we  had,"  he  told  her. 

"  How.?  "  she  demanded. 

"  That  crab  I  caught,"  he  explained,  "  and  the 
oar  I  lost  were  premeditated  acts."  He  looked  at 
her  a  little  anxiously.  He  was  not  sure  what  had 
actuated  him  to  confess  this.  He  did  not  know 
what  he  would  say  if  she  asked  him  the  reason 
for  this  strange  act. 

"  You  had  no  right  to  do  so,"  she  said  rather 
coldly.  "  You,  possibly,  can  swim,  but  the  other 
person  might  have  been  drowned." 

"  Was  it  very  sinful.?  "  he  asked. 

"  It  was  unnecessary,"  she  returned,  still  stiffly, 
"  and  means  that  in  future  I  shall  turn  a  deaf  ear 
to  people  pretending  to  be  in  peril." 

And  indeed  his  confession  did  not  please  her. 
There  had  been  a  certain  pleasure  in  the  thought 
that  their  acquaintance  might  ripen  into  friend- 
ship. She  wanted  not  lovers,  but  friends,  and  had 
conceived  of  relations  where  the  eternal  law  of 
polarity  might  be  forgotten  in  the  perfect  confi- 
dence born  of  friendship.      Chester  was   a    man 


170  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

whom  she  Hked  instinctively  and  she  was  dis- 
pleased to  find  it  was  design  and  not  accident 
which  had  brought  him  the  second  time  to  her. 
She  had  suffered  disappointment  before  when 
men  had  sought  to  ask  her  for  a  deeper  regard. 
Renalls  began  in  this  way,  and  her  cousin  Ronald 
was  another.  In  his  case  an  ardent  desire  to  teach 
her  golf  led  to  the  friend's  role  being  dropped  for 
that  of  the  adorer. 

It  was  true  this  stranger  had  said  nothing  to 
which  she  could  take  exception,  but  these  uncon- 
ventional meetings,  for  which  he  had  begged,  in  so 
many  words,  might  easily  lead  to  the  same  com- 
plications. She  turned  the  Chester  ring  round  and 
round  her  finger.  She  had  come  to  look  upon  it 
almost  as  a  kind  of  protection,  a  barrier  between 
her  and  the  strong,  silent  menace  of  Charles 
Renalls.  She  shot  a  swift  glance  at  the  man  by 
her  side  and  found  him  wearing  the  character  of 
depression.  She  admitted  that  he  had  never 
been  guilty  of  the  overconfidence  which  some 
men  might  assume  who  had  been  favored  by  her 
companionship  under  the  circumstances.  She 
had  noticed  in  him  only  a  certain  quiet  courage 
which  she  had  thought  of  as  thoroughbred.  But 
when  she  spoke,  it  was  still  severely. 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         171 

"That  little  man  might  have  been  drowned." 

"  Have  you  considered  his  build  ?  "  Chester  en- 
quired gravely.  "  Do  you  think  a  man  of  five  feet 
three  inches,  weighing  two  hundred  and  ten 
pounds,  could  sink  in  salt  water.''  " 

"  I  think  you  should  be  serious,"  she  reproved 
him. 

"  I  am,"  he  retorted.  "  In  my  mind's  eye  I  can 
see  him  floating  out  to  marine  adventure." 

"  You  ought  at  least  to  apologize  to  him,"  she 
said. 

"  You  don't  rnean  that,"  he  returned.  "  You 
couldn't  if  you  thought  about  it  for  a  moment. 
What  should  I  say  to  him,  to  that  poor  vulgar 
little  brute,  whose  mind  never  rises  above  captur- 
ing eels.?  Do  you  think  I  could  talk  to  him  about 
you  or  explain  that  an  overpowering  desire  to 
see  you  again  made  me  resort  to  that  trick.''  " 

There  was  noticeable  for  the  first  time  a  vibrant 
ring  of  passion  in  his  voice;  but  it  did  not  frighten 
her  as  a  similar  note  in  Renalls  might  have  done, 
or  weary  her  as  Monmouth's  offered  affection 
would  certainly  do.  It  produced  instead  a  certain 
diffidence  which  she  had  not  thought  to  find  in 
her  nature.  And  after  all  he  had  transgressed  no 
law  and  been  guilty  of  no  offense.     She  turned 


172  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

away  with  a  carelessness  that  he  did  not  know  was 
assumed.  "  Why  shouldn't  you  tell  him?  "  she 
asked. 

*'  I  don't  think  one  cares  to  tell  about  what  are 
rather  precious  memories,"  he  answered  steadily. 
"  Most  women  of  your  world  would  not  speak  to 
a  man  occupied  as  I  am  now.  You  have  treated 
me  as  though  I  were  still  the  man  I  once  was,  and 
you  can  never  know  what  a  help  that  is.  I  didn't 
mean  at  first  that  you  should  know  what  I  was  to 
Congdon.  I  was  ashamed  of  him,  but  somehow 
I  became  more  ashamed  of  feeling  this  shame.  I 
sha'n't  be  with  him  long  —  there  are  better  things 
ahead,  I  hope  —  but  because  I  met  you  here,  it 
will  always  be  a  pleasant  remembrance,  but  you 
mustn't  think  I  am  going  to  share  it  with  anyone 
else." 

He  rose  to  his  feet  and  offered  her  a  helping 
hand.  "  I  expect  you  will  be  wanting  to  know 
how  many  eels  have  fallen  to  Cyril's  skill." 

There  was  in  his  manner  a  touch  of  finality. 
It  was  as  though  he  had  accepted  her  rebuke  as 
merited  and  was  desirous  to  atone  by  leaving  her. 
What  he  had  said  only  stirred  her  to  a  deeper 
interest. 

"  I'm  not  in  the  least  anxious  to  know,"    she 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL  173 

declared  idly,  Ignoring  his  hand.  "  What  are 
you  going  to  do?"  she  demanded  when  she  saw 
him  standing  uncertainly  before  her. 

"  I  thought  of  going  back,"  he  replied  lamely. 
"  I  had  an  idea  you  wanted  to  go." 

"  Absolutely  unwarrantable  of  you,"  she  said. 

He  looked  at  her,  still  in  doubt.  Was  this  a 
dismissal.'*  Did  she  prefer  to  walk  back  alone.'' 
"  Shall  I  go."^  "  he  asked  suddenly. 

"  If  you  care  to  leave  me  alone  here,  unprotected 
against  whatever  may  lurk  in  the  woods,  by  all 
means  go,"  she  answered.  "  Personally  I'm  very 
comfortable  in  this  autumn  sunshine." 

He  resumed  his  seat  by  her  side.  Women  were 
incomprehensible,  he  assured  himself  dismally. 
She  had  been  angry,  it  seemed,  and  now  when  he 
tried  to  repair  the  error  her  manner  still  suggested 
that  he  was  in  the  wrong. 

"  You  may  run  away  if  you  have  anything  bet- 
ter to  do,"  she  continued.  "  I'm  not  in  the  least 
afraid  of  being  left  alone.  I  daresay  you're  quite 
wrong  about  there  being  copperheads  here." 

"  I  don't  want  to  go,"  he  said  vehemently. 

"  I'm  glad  you've  thought  better  of  it,"  she 
returned.  "  I  should  have  been  annoyed  to  find 
a  being  who  was  interesting  suddenly  turn  tail." 


174  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"Were  you  interested?"  he  asked. 

"  You  seem  like  something  out  of  real  life.  I've 
never  met  anyone  who  had  had  to  struggle  be- 
fore. You  have  struggled,  haven't  you.^  "  she 
demanded. 

"  Struggle  is  too  dignified  a  name,"  he  said. 
"  I  have  made  spasmodic  attempts  to  alter  my 
condition.  My  last  was  to  sell  books  to  people 
who  didn't  want  them." 

She  listened  intently  to  his  description  of  his 
efforts.  "  What  detestable  people!  "  she  cried. 
*'  I  should  have  bought  a  set  if  you  had  come  to 
our  house." 

"  No  well  trained  butler  would  allow  me  to 
enter,"  he  laughed.  He  was  surprised  that  the 
whole  humiliating  experience  had  lost  its  sting. 
He  had  thought  of  it  only  yesterday  with  a 
shudder. 

"  Was  that  your  first  position  f  "  she  asked. 

"  They  are  called  jobs,"  he  reminded  her  smi- 
ling. "  No;  I  had  a  previous  job.  I  was  entrusted 
with  a  coffee  route  in  Brooklyn.  My  duties  were 
to  leave  packages  of  coffee  and  tea  and  a  new 
and  superior  brand  of  salad  dressing  on  my 
customers." 

**  Why  did  you  give  it  up.? "  she  demanded. 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         175 

"  Evil  fortune  pursued  me,"  he  laughed. 
"  While  I  was  expatiating  with  unusual  eloquence 
on  my  coffee,  explaining  why  it  was  superior  In 
aroma,  and  cheaper  to  use  than  any  other  coffee, 
some  miscreant  stole  my  hog-maned  cob  and  shiny 
van,  and  from  that  day  to  this  it  has  never  been 
heard  of.  I  often  wonder,"  he  continued  reflect- 
ively, "  what  they  did  with  five  hundred  bottles 
of  salad  dressing." 

"Actually  stole  it  while  you  were  near.?"  she 
exclaimed. 

"  Such  evil  is  man  capable  of,"  he  assured  her. 
"  I  was  getting  quite  attached  to  that  hog-maned 
cob,"  he  added.  "  She  was  about  fourteen- three, 
and  a  chestnut  with  fine  riding  shoulders.  She 
had  a  strained  tendon,  but  I  believe  I  could  have 
cured  that." 

"  What  on  earth  did  you  do.^* "  Norah  de- 
manded. 

"  Walked  back  to  my  headquarters  in  Jersey 
City,"  he  told  her.  "  It  was  fearfully  hot  and  I 
hadn't  any  money  to  ride.  The  owner  was  an 
excitable  native  of  Eastern  Prussia,  voluble  be- 
yond belief,  and  his  eyes  filled  with  tears  to  follow 
that  salad  dressing  in  its  flight.  He  had  made  me 
deposit  one  hundred  dollars  as  a  surety,  and  that  he 


176  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

seized.  I've  learned  since  that  it  was  illegal,  but 
I  felt  properly  punished  and  went  forth  from 
his  presence  much  abashed.  Naturally  that 
made  a  revision  of  my  expenditure  necessary. 
Books  followed,  and  now  Al  demands  my 
care." 

"  You  must  have  heaps  of  friends,"  she  haz- 
arded,    "  Won't  they  help  you  ?  " 

"  I  haven't  asked  them,"  he  returned,  "  I'm 
not  proud  of  being  what  I  am,  and  I'd  rather 
cherish  kind  memories  of  the  men  I  used  to  know 
than  listen  to  them  all  saying  solemnly,  '  I  proph- 
esied it  all  long  ago.'  " 

"  But  you've  helped  other  men,  I  expect,"  she 
said. 

"  It's  often  easier  to  do  that  than  refuse,"  he 
commented.  "  In  those  days,  if  a  man  came  to 
me  for  advice,  I  knew  he  only  wanted  to  be  as- 
sured that  what  he  had  done  was  right."  He 
shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  It's  different  now. 
They'd  begin  to  tell  me  things  for  my  own  good, 
and  when  a  man  does  that  he's  no  longer  your 
friend." 

"  You  are  very  bitter,"  she  said  quietly. 

"  I  hope  not,"  he  retorted.  "  I  know  my 
world;    that's  all." 


CAPTAIN  OF  HIS  SOUL         177 

"  I  have  great  faith  in  that  mining  man  I  spoke 
of,"  she  said  presently. 

"  It's  very  good  of  you  to  trouble  about  me," 
he  said  gratefully.  "  I've  had  a  little  experience 
in  mining." 

"Why  didn't  you  say  so  yesterday?"  she  de- 
manded.    "  What  was  it?  " 

"  I  took  an  assaying  and  surveying  course," 
he  said.  "  I  really  worked  hard  at  it,  and  bought 
a  theodolite  and  level  and  divided  every  public  and 
private  space  I  could  see  into  triangles.  None  of 
my  friends  would  believe  it,  but  I  assure  you  it's 
true." 

"  Why  not  try  for  something  in  that  line  ?  "  she 
suggested. 

"  I  have,"  he  said,  "  but  they  all  say  I've  had 
no  experience.  I've  never  held  a  job  at  it,  you  see. 
I  took  it  up  then  because  I  had  a  sort  of  interest 
in  a  mine."  He  did  not  tell  her  that  he  had  bought 
it  outright  from  the  sale  of  some  Yonkers  land 
opposite. 

"  Is  the  assay  of  gold  difficult?  "  she  asked. 

"  One  of  the  easiest  metals,"  he  assured  her. 
"  Not  a  quarter  as  bad  as  copper." 

"  My  mining  friend  is  interested  in  gold,"  she 
said  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  "  and  I  don't  see  a  bit 


178  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

why  you  shouldn't  do  well  with  him.  He  might 
want  you  to  go  to  Brazil,  though.  Would  you 
mind?" 

"  I'd  revel  in  it,"  he  declared  enthusiastically. 
"  You've  put  new  life  into  me." 


CHAPTER   IX 

BLUDGEONINGS    OF    CHANCE 

"  A  great  city  is  the  school  for  studying  life."  —  Johnson. 

THEY  found  Cyril  lying  asleep  in  the  sun 
his  head  resting  on  Al's  coat.  The  child 
had  wearied  of  his  fishing.  When  he  was 
awakened  he  declared  that  he  had  promised  Al 
to  come  the  next  day. 

"  I'm  afraid  you  can't,"  she  said  gently.  "  Have 
you  forgotten  that  we  are  all  going  to  Lakewood 
tomorrow  for  a  week.?  " 

"  When  I  come  back.?  "  he  pleaded. 

"  We  shall  always  be  here,"  said  Al  eagerly. 

Chester  heard  her  answer  with  a  thrill  of  pleas- 
ure. It  would  .be  a  dreary  week  alone  with  Al, 
but  it  would  pass  at  last.  He  watched  the  launch 
disappear  in  a  frame  of  mind  happier  than  had 
been  his  for  many  months.  Al  presently  inter- 
rupted his  meditations. 

"  It  must  be  great  to  have  a  kid  like  that,"  he 
said.  "  I'd  be  a  good  father  if  I  had  one.  When 
he  was  lying  by  me  with  his  head  on  my  coat   I 


180  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

felt  like  as  I'd  missed  something."  He  spat  into 
the  stream  and  muttered  an  oath.  Chester  looked 
at  him  astonished;  this  was  a  new  side  to  the  man. 

"  I  was  engaged  once,"  he  continued,  "  but  she 
ran  off  with  somebody  else.  I  might  have  been 
a  good  man  now  if  she'd  have  stuck  to  me  and  I'd 
had  some  kids.  I  took  to  the  drink  after  that. 
It'll  be  my  finish,"  he  concluded  dully. 

"  Why  should  it.?  "  Chester  asked  gently.  "  Why 
couldn't  you  cut  it  out  altogether?  You've  had 
nothing  for  five  days  now  and  you're  looking  like 
a  new  man." 

"  You  don't  know  what  it  is,"  Al  said  firmly. 
*'  I  don't  like  it  same  as  most  men  who  take  three 
or  four  goes  of  whiskey  a  day.  When  I  want  it 
I  must  have  it,  and  I  generally  get  it."  He  looked 
at  his  companion  genially.  "  I  like  you  first  rate," 
he  observed,  "  better  than  all  the  others  bunched 
together,  but  if  you  want  to  stay  on  with  us  you've 
got  to  watch  me  mighty  close.  The  old  woman 
won't  stand  for  you  if  I  get  it  right  under  your 
nose.  And  that,"  said  Al  sadly,  "  is  what  I'm 
liable  to  do.    That's  why  all  the  rest  got  fired." 

"  '  Forewarned  is  forearmed,'  "  Chester  quoted. 

"  Not  on  your  life,"  Al  assured  him.  "  They 
all  got  warned." 


BLUDGEONINGS  OF  CHANCE    181 

The  next  morning  Al  complained  of  a  cold  and 
some  fever.  "  I  knew  I'd  get  it,"  he  explained  to 
Chester,  "  when  I  put  my  coat  round  the  little 
fellow  yesterday,  but  don't  you  tell  the  old  lady 
or  she'll  put  the  kibosh  on  our  going  over  there," 
By  evening  he  had  developed  a  thoroughly  bad 
cold  and  asked  boldly  for  a  large  dose  of  quinine 
dissolved  in  hot  whiskey  and  water.  This  was  a 
combination  in  which  Mrs.  Congdon  had  great 
faith  and  used  it  upon  herself,  her  maid  servant 
or  the  stranger  that  was  within  her  gates;  but 
whether  to  allow  her  son  to  taste  of  the  enticing 
spirit  was  a  nice  point.  She  watched  his  cold  in- 
creasing in  severity  —  she  would  have  none  of 
physicians  —  feeling  that  she  had  in  the  whiskey 
and  quinine  a  certain  remedy.  She  was  always 
guided  in  her  daily  conduct  by  seeking  haphazard  a 
verse  from  the  Scriptures,  and  by  this  facile  method 
thought  she  received  direct  counsel  from  above. 
A  verse  had  seemed  appropriate  when  she  was  not 
certain  whether  to  engage  Chester  or  another 
man.  Today  Al  watched  with  considerable  anx- 
iety. Slowly  she  read  out  a  verse  as  though  un- 
certain how  to  apply  it,  "  Then  shall  the  lambs 
feed  after  their  manner."  Al  instantly  became 
cheerful  and  the  colored  girl  went  out  for  a  bottle 


182  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

of  the  best  rye,  and  the  lamb  smiled  amiably.  He 
had  dreamed  the  night  before  that  he  would  never 
taste  spirits  again.  He  shuddered  becomingly  at 
the  bitter  taste  and  was  tucked  into  bed. 

At  one  o'clock  Chester,  who  slept  in  the  same 
large  room,  was  awakened  by  the  patient,  who 
could  not  go  from  it  until  the  bed  on  which  the 
younger  man  slept  was  pulled  from  athwart  the 
door.  Al  explained  that  he  was  deadly  cold  and 
wanted  his  mother's  hot-water  bottle  filled.  As 
Chester  could  not  fetch  it  he  allowed  Al  to  go, 
listening  suspiciously  the  while.  He  heard  the 
sick  man's  heavy  steps  descend  to  the  kitchen, 
heard  him  light  the  gas  and  boil  the  kettle.  Then 
he  listened  as  he  ascended,  entered  the  room,  and 
crept  into  bed  with  the  hot-water  bottle  at  his  feet. 
Chester  took  the  precaution  to  turn  on  the  light 
and  go  through  the  other's  dressing-gown  pockets. 
Nothing  was  to  be  found.  Al  merely  shook  his 
head  sadly  at  this  lack  of  faith  and  began  sneezing 
violently. 

In  the  morning  he  slept  stertorously  and  his 
mother,  bending  over  him,  started  back  in  alarm: 
the  lamb  puffed  whiskey  into  her  face.  Much 
agitated,  she  commenced  to  upbraid  Chester.  In 
defense  he  pointed  out  that  the  bottle  was  safely 


BLUDGEONINGS  OF  CHANCE   183 

stowed  away  in  her  room.  Examination  proved 
that  the  bottle  was  unmoved,  containing  approxi- 
mately the  same  amount  as  had  been  left  the 
previous  night.  Chester  removed  the  cork  and 
smelt  the  contents.  Al  had  filled  it  up  with  water 
and  the  black  bottle  had  concealed  his  aim.  It 
was  impossible  that  he  could  have  drunk  the 
•spirit,  since  he  was  of  those  who  can  take  but  little. 
He  was  awakened  and  subjected  to  examination, 
but  he  persisted  in  smiling  happily  and  refusing 
to  answer.  He  also  declined  to  arise,  insist- 
ing that  his  slumbers  had  been  too  rudely  broken.' 
When  taxed  with  concealing  the  whiskey,  he  pro- 
fessed no  repentance  and  gibed  at  his  mother's 
concern  for  his  poor  soul.  He  was  permitted  to 
sleep  on,  and  Mrs.  Congdon's  manner  to  Chester 
became  markedly  severe.  At  luncheon,  sounds  of 
revelry  arose  from  the  bedroom  overhead  and  the 
two  gazed  at  one  another  in  horror.  Al  bursting 
into  song  was  Al  at  the  height  of  alcoholic  content. 
A  curious  spectacle  met  their  gaze  as  they  threw 
open  the  door.  Flushed  and  happy,  he  was  empty- 
ing the  contents  of  the  rubber  warming  bottle; 
he  had  filled  it  with  whiskey  the  night  before. 

Mrs.  Congdon  felt  no  need  to  search  the  Scrip- 
tures in  order  to  give  Chester  his  marching  orders; 


184  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

she  declined  to  believe  that  the  thing  was  not 
accomplished  with  his  connivance,  and  pursued 
him  to  the  door  with  slighting  remarks  as  to  his 
future  prospects.  Thus  it  was  that  Chester,  with 
some  twenty  dollars  in  his  pocket,  found  his  way- 
back  to  his  little  room  in  East  Sixty-ninth  Street, 
which  was  fortunately  disengaged. 

For  some  things  he  did  not  regret  the  change.* 
His  talks  with  Norah  had  stirred  him  to  fresh 
ambition  and  he  knew  that  his  dependent  position 
with  the  Congdons  could  lead  to  nothing.  He 
made  his  way  to  Enderby's  office  on  the  following 
morning  and  interviewed  the  office  manager,  who 
informed  him  that  no  communications  of  any  sort 
had  come  for  Mr.  Chester  Dick.  "  It's  possible," 
said  Chester,  "  that  some  may  come  for  Mr.  R. 
Vincent.     If  so,  please  hold  them." 

Biggs  made  the  necessary  memorandum. 
"  Want  to  see  the  boss,'*  "  he  inquired.  The  other 
hesitated  a  moment.  "  Thanks,  no,"  he  said,  "  I 
won't  take  up  his  time."  He  still  cherished  an 
affection  for  the  lawyer,  but  he  doubted  if  it  would 
be  proof  against  the  reception  he  feared  he  would 
now  encounter  from  him.  Biggs  reported  the 
interview  to  his  employer,  who  manifested  what 
Biggs  thought  unnecessary  temper.    "  You  might 


BLUDGEONINGS  OF  CHANCE   185 

have  known  I  wanted  to  see  him,"  he  cried  pet- 
tishly. "  Next  time,  tell  me  without  saying  any- 
thing to  him." 

"  He  doesn't  forget  being  kept  waiting  forty 
minutes,"  observed  the  sapient  Biggs.  "  That 
sort  never  likes  to  wait." 

Enderby  waved  him  impatiently  aside.  That 
sort,  as  he  well  knew,  did  not  like  to  be  kept  wait- 
ing. 

Richard  went  from  Enderby's  to  a  large  em- 
ployment agency  which  had  frequently,  in  reply 
to  advertisements,  sent  him  its  circulars.  He  was 
required  to  expend  the  sum  of  five  dollars  to  be- 
come eligible  for  entry  on  the  books.  The  emi- 
nently suave  young  man  who  interviewed  him 
explained  that  the  agency  made  absolutely  noth- 
ing on  this  fee  and  demonstrated  that  the  name  of 
each  clientwas  borne  in  the  books  at  an  annual  cost 
of  six  dollars  and  eighteen  cents.  Chester  joy- 
fully filled  in  an  application  blank,  and  heard  that 
a  lack  of  experience  would  militate  against  his 
chance  of  success.  With  the  fee  paid  the  suave 
young  man  lost  interest  and  permitted  himself 
to  yawn.  But  Chester,  who  was  never  so  deter- 
mined to  get  on,  walked  out  head  up  and  jaunty  of 
carriage.     He  called  on  other  agencies,  some  of 


186  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

which  asked  for  fees  and  some  of  which  did  not. 
He  filled  more  blanks  attesting  his  unfitness,  and 
was  highly  pleased  with  his  new  found  hustle 
when  he  came  across  Peck,  once  of  Cornell.  Peck 
greeted  him  cheerily.     "What  luck?"  he  cried. 

"  Nothing  to  boast  of  yet,"  Chester  told  him. 
"What  of  yours?" 

"  I  belong  to  another  century,"  said  Peck  wear- 
ily. He  had  walked  many  miles  that  day  to  save 
carfares  and  he  had  not  breakfasted  well,  "  An 
age  of  meditation  would  suit  me.  I  was  up  at  six 
to  answer  an  early  job;  they  want  a  watchman 
at  the  New  Century  Club,  but  they  rejected  me 
because  they  didn't  like  my  looks.  How  did  you 
make  out  with  those  books  ?  " 

"  I  didn't,"  said  Chester.    "  What  about  you  ?  " 

"  The  same  story,"  said  Peck.  "  They  were 
reprints  anyhow,  those  books,  and  the  plates  were 
old,  and  I  suppose  we  aren't  salesmen." 

"  What  are  you  after  now?  "  Chester  demanded. 

"A  job,"  said  Peck  of  Cornell.  "Winter's 
coming  on  and  it's  up  to  me  to  get  something  be- 
fore the  merry  sleigh-bells  jangle." 

"  Come  and  have  lunch,"  Chester  exclaimed 
abruptly.  He  saw  the  other's  pallor  and  made  a 
guess  at  its  cause. 


BLUDGEONINGS  OF  CHANCE    187 

Peck  looked  at  him  gratefully.  "  Can  you  af- 
ford it?  "  he  demanded. 

"  Easily,"  cried  Chester,  rich  in  the  possession 
of  twenty  dollars.     "  Where  shall  we  go.''  " 

"  Chinatown,"  said  Peck.  "  Mushroom  chop 
suey  a  quarter,  rice  five  cents,  a  plate  of  pork  ten 
cents,  and  tea  ad  libitum  for  nothing.  Forty  cents 
for  the  most  satisfying  meal  in  Christendom.  You 
can  walk  it  in  ten  minutes  from  here." 

The  two  men  remained  in  the  Mott  Street 
restaurant  for  two  hours  and  Chester  learned 
much  wisdom  concerning  New  York  and  his 
chances  therein.  "  Economically,"  cried  Peck, 
consuming  cup  after  cup  of  tea,  "  we  cumber  the 
ground.  If  I  could  pound  a  typewriter  I  might 
be  worth  twelve  a  week;  but  nobody  will  trust 
one  to  me.  If  I  could  lay  bricks  I'd  own  a  house 
and  lot  in  a  year;  if  I  could  wrestle  successfully 
with  double  entry  I  should  have  hope,  but  as  it 
is,  I'm  like  Little  Mary  in  the  hymn,  '  I  am  always 
in  the  way.'    What  can  you  do.^  " 

Peck  was  not  impressed  by  Chester's  abilities. 
*'  The  mining  offers  the  best  chance,"  he  observed, 
"  if  you  can  interest  someone  In  you.  But  for  that 
we're  just  about  the  same  use  In  the  world." 

"  Don't  try  to  discourage  me,"  laughed  Chester, 


188  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

still  strong  in  the  belief  that  Norah  had  infused 
in  him.     "  We  shall  get  something." 

"  It's  the  winter  I  dread,"  Peck  confessed.  "  In 
the  summer  I'm  a  chirping  grasshopper,  but  at 
this  stage  of  the  game,  I  begin  to  think  about  the 
long  cold  nights.  In  the  winter,  when  the  snow's 
falling.  New  York  is  as  near  my  conception  of 
Acheron  as  anything  I  know." 

"  What  about  the  agencies .? "  Chester  said  less 
confidently.  "  I've  just  put  my  name  down  on 
Blank's  books." 

"  You've  chucked  five  dollars  away,"  Peck  de- 
clared. 

"  Are  they  swindlers.^  "  the  other  demanded. 

"  I  don't  exactly  mean  that,"  Peck  observed, 
"  but  they  won't  find  a  job  for  you  or  me.  We're 
not  easy  to  fit.  It's  all  right  for  bookkeepers  and 
office  managers  and  so  on,  but  the  job  we  could 
hold  down  are  few  and  far  between." 

"  I've  met  cheerier  companions,"  Chester  said 
at  length. 

"  And  what  good  have  they  been  to  you  .'* " 
Peck  asked.  "  What's  the  use  of  doing  the  Mi- 
cawber  act  and  waiting  for  things  to  turn  up.^* 
If  you  wait  like  the  excellent  Wilkins,  you'll  fetch 
up  on  Blackwell's  Island.     The  winter  i$n't  far 


BLUDGEONINGS  OF  CHANCE  189 

off,  and  I've  spent  a  winter  here  and  I  know.  The 
Astor  Library  is  a  good  spot  till  nine  o'clock  at 
night,  and  the  big  hotels  offer  sanctuary  so  long 
as  you've  good  clothes  and  don't  see  them  too 
often,  but  sooner  or  later  it's  heigh  ho  for  the  open 
street  and  the  cold  winds  of  early  morning." 

Chester's  theories  were  being  rudely  shaken. 
"  But  there's  always  manual  labor,"  he  said. 

"  I  used  to  think  that  once,"  Peck  told  him. 
"  You  and  I  are  both  big  men,  and  I've  no  doubt 
when  you  were  at  Yale  you  used  to  throw  the 
heavy  weights  around  like  a  young  Sandow.  It 
got  our  muscles  up.  Well  and  good.  But  what 
chance  do  we  have  against  men  who  would  regard 
this  heavy  work  as  every-day  toil  and  have  prac- 
tised it  ten  hours  a  day,  all  their  lives?  Suppose 
you  put  yourself  against  one  of  these  fellows  at 
swinging  a  pick.  For  the  first  hour  you'd  outswing 
him,  but  then  your  hands  would  go  back  on  you 
and  they'd  blister  and  get  like  rare  beefsteak. 
And  as  for  your  back  —  if  you  want  to  feel  what 
pain  is,  you  wait  till  the  morning  after.  I  know 
what  I'm  talking  about  for  I've  tried  it." 

"  Then  what  on  earth  will  you  do.''  "  Chester 
demanded. 

"  Try  for  a  cook's  helper  in  a  hotel  kitchen,  and 


190  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

if  you're  clever  enough,  you  can  pick  up  enough 
to  take  a  cook's  job  in  a  Third  Avenue  hash  shng- 
ery.  It's  a  good  healthy  job  and  you  get  all  you 
want  to  eat,  and  it's  warm." 

"  I  can't  say  the  prospect  attracts  me,"  Chester 
remarked. 

Peck  leaned  across  the  marble-topped  table. 
"  And  do  you  suppose  it  attracted  me.''  "  he  cried. 
"  I  was  just  as  fastidious  as  you  were,  and  when 
I  said  I  would  condescend  to  work  I  thought  the 
battle  was  won."  He  laughed  a  trifle  bitterly. 
"  I  decided  to  carve  —  carve  is  the  only  word  — 
a  career  in  the  belles-lettres.  Verses,  critiques, 
appreciations  after  the  manner  of  De  Quincey,  and 
Bagehot,  and  written  in  the  style  of  Walter  Pater, 
and  Arthur  Symons.  Translations,  essays  and 
sonnets.  Lord,  man,  it  amuses  me  even  to  think 
of  it."  He  sighed.  "  Well,  here  I  am  enjoying  a 
good  dinner  for  once,  and  I  ought  to  feel  at  least 
grateful  that  I  met  you." 

"  Nonsense,"  Chester  ejaculated.  "  Do  you 
think  I  like  to  take  solitary  meals  .^" 

Peck  lit  a  cigarette  and  puffed  lovingly  at  it. 
The  brand  was  one  which  he  had  not  smoked  for 
years.  "  Chinatown  tea  always  gets  into  my 
head,"  he  declared,  "  and  starts  me  talking  nine- 


BLUDGEONINGS  OF  CHANCE   191 

teen  to  the  dozen.  I'm  by  nature  a  poet,  Vincent, 
and  I  have  written  stuff  that  was  good,  although  it 
will  never  be  published,  dainty  verse,  rose  leaves 
of  thought,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  Do  you 
know  what  I've  been  doing  for  the  past  hour?  " 

"  Can't  Imagine,"  Chester  returned.  He  sup- 
posed this  fantastical  friend  had  perhaps  com- 
posed a  sonnet  sequence. 

"  I've  been  eating  as  much  as  I  could  possibly 
ingest,  so  that  if  there's  nothing  coming  tomorrow 
I  can  last  the  day  out."  He  tapped  his  breast. 
"  And  I  write  dainty  stuff  after  the  manner  of 
Alfred  de  Musset  and  hanker  after  Pater's  golden 
prose." 

Chester  saw  how  thin  he  was,  and  a  sense  of 
pity  swept  through  him.  He  had  never  before 
eaten  with  a  man  who  was  so  badly  in  want  of  food. 

"  Where  do  you  live.'*  "  he  asked. 

"  Nowhere  at  present,"  Peck  returned,  flushing. 
"  My  landlady  has  a  heart  of  brown  stone  and  has 
filched  my  latchkey." 

"  Come  with  me,"  Chester  said.  "  I  have  a  room 
we  can  share,  and  my  credit  is  good." 

Peck  shook  his  head.  "  Thank  you,"  he  said. 
"  It's  very  good  of  you,  Vincent,  but  I  couldn't 
think  of  it." 


192  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Chester  looked  at  him  seriously.  He  had  not 
noticed  before  how  much  shabbier  he  had  become 
since  he  saw  him  last,  or  how  loosely  the  clothes 
hung  over  his  gaunt  shoulders.  "  Will  you  let 
your  damned  silly  pride  rob  me  of  a  friend  when  I 
want  one.'*"  he  asked. 

Peck  tried  to  answer,  but  his  lips  quivered,  and 
he  clenched  his  hands  to  keep  back  the  lump  in 
his  throat.  He  had  not  for  a  year  met  with  the 
sympathy  that  understood.  Chester  affected  not 
to  observe  this,  and  walked  leisurely  to  the  coun- 
ter and  purchased  a  box  of  unnecessary  cigarettes. 
When  he  returned  Peck  was  master  of  his  emo- 
tions. "  It's  not  the  sort  of  neignborhood  one 
would  choose,"  said  Chester,  "  but  the  room  is 
clean  and  the  landlady  has  not  seen  better  days." 

The  idea  of  sharing  a  room  had  been  one  he 
never  contemplated,  but  there  was  never  a  mo- 
ment when  he  had  cause  to  regret  his  offer.  He 
soon  grew  to  cherish  an  affection  for  Peck  which 
the  Cornell  man  was  not  slow  to  reciprocate. 
Peck  came  of  a  family  honorably  connected  with 
trade  and,  until  his  father's  sudden  death,  and 
subsequent  discovery  of  an  involved  estate,  he 
had  been  brought  up  in  luxury.  But  he  soon 
learned,  more  from  deduction  than  anything  his 


BLUDGEONINGS  OF  CHANCE   193 

companion  actually  said,  that  even  in  a  country- 
boasting  of  no  class  distinction  Chester  came  of 
a  different  people,  a  people  who  played  polo,  owned 
steam  yachts  and  were  persona  grata  in  all  the 
great  cities  of  the  old  world. 

Under  Peck's  guidance  Chester  learned  many 
wrinkles  about  looking  for  jobs.  They  would  go 
to  Herald  Square  and  get  a  paper  hot  from  the 
great  presses  and,  adjourning  to  a  coffee  stall  hard 
by,  scan  the  help-wanted  columns  and  write  their 
answers  or  call  before  other  applicants  appeared. 
Sometimes  they  obtained  temporary  positions, 
but  it  was  a  bad  season  and  what  money  they 
jointly  made  served  to  make  living  but  a  pitiful 
thing.  Under  the  influence  of  Chester's  cheerier 
manner,  Peck  took  heart  of  grace  and  wore  a 
more  courageous  aspect.  "  Something,"  said  the 
indomitable  Peck,  "  must  turn  up."  And  Chester 
agreed  with  him.  Yet  he  grew  discouraged 
when,  despite  all  his  efforts,  success  did  not 
smile. 

One  day  he  was  walking  along  lower  Broadway 
when  Biggs,  Enderby's  ambitious  managing  clerk, 
stopped  him  and  held  out  a  patronizing  hand. 

"  Come  in  and  see  me  some  day,  Chester,"  he 
exclaimed. 


194  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Have  you  any  letters  for  me  ?  "  the  other  de- 
manded. 

"  Not  a  thing,"  Biggs  declared. 

"  And  nothing  has  occurred  concerning  the 
matter  I  discussed  with  Mr.  Enderby.''" 

Biggs  shook  his  head.  "  Nothing  doing.  Per- 
haps she  isn't  tired  of  you  and  you're  going  to  get 
another  chance."  He  nodded  familiarly  and  took 
his  farewell.  Chester  watched  him  with  something 
of  a  scowl.  He  was  not  yet  used  to  being  patron- 
ized by  men  of  Biggs'  type. 

It  was  extraordinary,  he  thought,  that  Cosway 
had  not  acted.  But  since  divorce  may  be  obtained 
with  varying  ease  in  various  States  he  supposed 
that  an  astute  lawyer  would  take  advantage  of 
this  and  he  might  know  nothing  of  it  until  all 
formalities  were  over.  As  for  the  other  matter, 
he  supposed  that  Mendoza,  the  mining  magnate, 
had  not  been  apprised  of  his  existence.  He  had 
no  doubt  but  that  he  would  eventually  receive  a 
letter.  Norah  was  not  the  kind  of  a  woman  to 
forget.  He  wondered  what  she  thought,  if,  on 
her  return. from  Lakewood,  she  had  run  the  launch 
up  the  river  and  found  him  gone;  or  what  Al's 
version  of  his  dismissal  might  be.  He  had  been 
tempted  at  first  to  write  to  her,  but  abandoned 


BLUDGEONINGS  OF  CHANCE   195 

the  idea  as  one  he  should  not,  In  accordance  with 
his  sense  of  duty  to  her,  carry  out. 

The  interest  she  had  expressed  in  him  had  been 
born  of  her  pity  and  was  not  to  be  worked  upon 
further.  His  one  idea  was  to  make  good;  to  show 
that  he  was  a  man  who  could,  despite  the  easy 
training  of  early  years,  hold  his  own  in  competi- 
tion with  strong  men.  What  might  happen  if  his 
dreams  came  true  he  did  not  dare  to  think  of, 
but  as  he  compared  his  luck  with  Peck's  he  felt 
there  was  much  to  be  thankful  for. 

As  a  rule  the  two  men  took  their  dinner  —  often 
the  only  meal  of  the  day  —  at  a  Hungarian  res- 
taurant on  lower  Second  Avenue  kept  by  a  courtly 
native  of  the  dual  monarchy.  For  five  and  thirty 
cents  a  four-course  liberal  dinner,  including  a 
large  glass  of  white  or  red  wine,  might  be  obtained. 
It  was  a  long,  low  room  filled  with  tables  holding 
six  people.  A  portrait  of  Louis  Kossuth  held 
place  of  honor,  and  there  was  a  big  oil  painting  of 
a  marriage  cavalcade  which  always  took  the  eye 
of  the  newcomer.  It  was  a  picture  of  a  bride, 
gay  in  her  wedding  finery,  meeting  in  her  path 
from  the  church  the  body  of  her  dead  lover. 
Plunging  horses  and  gallant  men  conspired  to 
render  the  painting  a  spirited  piece  of  work,  al- 


196  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

though  from  the  standpoint  of  art  it  was  not  to 
be  regarded  seriously. 

Peck  had  been  looking  at  It  one  night  and  in  an 
unusually  silent  mood.  "  You  sometimes  re- 
proach me,"  he  said  to  his  companion,  "  for  not 
taking  a  brighter  outlook  on  life.  Do  you  know 
one  of  the  reasons  I  get  depressed.'*  " 

Chester  shook  his  head.  "  I  can't  imagine," 
he  returned. 

"  Before  my  father  died  I  was  engaged  to  a 
girl,"  Peck  said,  "  and  when  it  was  found  I  had 
nothing,  her  mother  took  her  to  Europe  for  a  two 
years'  trip,  which  was  the  same  thing  as  breaking 
it  off.  Today  I  went  into  a  broker's  office  to  sell 
or  try  to  sell  him  some  automobile  insurance,  and 
sitting  talking  to  him  was  his  wife.  It  was  the 
girl  I  was  once  going  to  marry."  He  sighed. 
"  Like  most  moments  of  tragedy,  it  had  a  mo- 
ment of  farce.  I  was  so  upset,  so  absolutely  con- 
fused, that  I  went  out  leaving  my  hat  on  a  chair 
and  found  myself  hatless  in  William  Street.  I 
couldn't  go  back  for  it  for  fear  of  meeting  her 
again,  so  I  bought  one  second  hand  in  the  Bowery 
for  a  quarter."  He  pointed  to  where  it  hung  on  a 
peg.  "  I'm  not  sure  that  it  isn't  a  much  better 
one  than   the  other,  so  it  wasn't  all  to  the  bad." 


BLUDGEONINGS  OF  CHANCE    197 

He  beckoned  to  the  waiter.  "  Bring  me  two  more 
glasses  of  wine."  He  talked  but  little  for  the 
remainder  of  the  evening. 

A  morning  or  two  after  this,  Chester  made  his 
round  of  those  agencies  on  whose  books  his  name 
was.  Usually  he  was  bidden  to  call  again,  but 
today  he  was  shown  into  the  offices  of  one  of  the 
many  bright  young  men  who  conducted  the  busi- 
ness. This  official  sent  for  his  application  and 
scanned  it  closely.  "  I'm  inclined  to  think,"  he 
began,  "  that  we've  got  a  job  which  will  fit  you 
like  a  glove.  I  was  going  to  write  you  if  you 
hadn't  come  in." 

"  That's  good  news,"  Chester  cried.  "  What  is 
it.?" 

"  We  have  a  client  now  at  the  New  Willard 
in  Washington  who  has  been  trying  for  three 
months  to  get  a  companion-secretary.  He  wants 
a  young  unmarried  man  to  travel  abroad  for  a 
year  and  then  come  back  here  and  be  his  confi- 
dential man  down  at  his  commission  house  in 
Leonard  Street.  That  sounds  easy,  but  there  are 
a  lot  of  qualifications  essential." 

"  Such  as.?  "  Chester  asked. 

"  The  man  he  wants  must  be  used  to  society 
and  know  the  right  kind  of  clothes  to  wear,  and 


198  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

be  fond  of  sport,  —  our  client  is  a  fencer  and  golfer 
and  crazy  over  automobiles.  His  companion  has 
got  to  enter  into  his  sports  and  into  his  work.  He 
can  easily  get  men  who  are  on  the  business  end 
of  it,  but  he  wants  a  gentleman.  He  wants  a  man 
who  can  tour  Europe  with  him  in  his  six-cylinder 
car  and  help  him  out  on  the  language  end  of  it.  I 
see  you  can  speak  French  and  German  well?  " 

Chester  nodded,  "  Yes." 

The  other  man  leaned  back  and  looked  at  him 
satisfied.  "  I  never  had  a  man  better  fitted  than 
I  think  you  are,  and  I  never  handled  a  client  who's 
willing  to  pay  better  than  this  one.  You  can 
practically  make  your  own  terms.  You  go  down 
to  Washington  right  away.  Mind  you,  for  all  I 
know  the  job  may  be  filled.  It  wasn't  up  to  yes- 
terday. And  you  may  not  suit,  but  if  I  were  you 
I'd  take  the  risk.    What  about  it.?  " 

"  I'll  go  by  the  midnight  train,"  Chester  said, 
"  and  get  to  him  by  the  time  he's  ready  for  break- 
fast." 

"  That's  good,"  said  the  other.  "  I  see  by  his 
letter  he  leaves  Washington  tomorrow  afternoon 
for  Savannah,  where  he  joins  a  yachting  party. 
It's  the  chance  of  your  lifetime,  Mr.  Vincent." 


CHAPTER  X 


A    TICKET   TO    UTOPIA 


"  Not  our  logical  mensurative  faculty,  but  our  imaginative  one 
is  king  over  us,  or  I  should  say  prophet  and  prince  to  lead  us  Heaven- 
ward, or  magician  and  wizard  to  lead  us  Hellward."  —  Carlyle. 

NEVER  before  had  Chester  had  the  op- 
portunity to  step  so  happily  from  an 
employment  agency.  As  he  turned  into 
Broadway  he  caromed  into  a  man  apparently 
about  to  enter  the  building  he  was  leaving.  He 
apologized  and  passed  on.  A  minute  or  so  later  a 
voice  addressed  him  and  he  looked  round  to  see 
the  man  he  had  jolted.  He  was  middle  aged, 
moderately  well  dressed  and  newly  shaven.  "  I 
think,  sir,"  he  said,  "  I  saw  you  coming  from  the 
Universal  Employment  Agency." 

Chester  felt  already  on  the  road  to  fortune  and 
was  disposed  to  take  no  offense  at  the  question. 
"  Your  eyes  did  not  deceive  you,"  he  answered. 

"  I  am  a  believer  in  fate,"  said  the  stranger. 
"  In  confidence,  I  was  about  to  enter  the  ofhce  to 
see,  after  a  fruitless  hunt  in  other  directions,  if 


200  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

I  could  find  the  right  man."  He  infused  much 
mystery  into  his  words. 

Chester  looked  at  him  with  a  Httle  suspicion. 
"  What  do  you  want  him  for.-*  "  he  demanded. 

The  stranger  looked  about  him  cautiously. 
"  I  prefer  not  to  tell  you  here,"  he  said.  "  Let 
us  take  a  side  street."  Chester  followed  him  in 
silence  and  the  man  presently  turned  to  him, 
"  Mr.  — er?  "  he  asked  interrogatively. 

"  Smith  of  Manhattan,"  returned  Chester 
promptly. 

"  My  name,"  the  stranger  explained  with  a 
touch  of  dignity,  "  is  Foster,  and  I  am  a  native 
of   Massachusetts." 

Chester's  good  spirits  were  undimmed  by  this 
news.  He  confided  in  the  other  that  Foster  was  a 
good  name  and  he  had  known  several  who  bore  it. 

"  I  take  it,"  said  Foster  of  Massachusetts,  "  that 
you  are  seeking  a  position.^  " 

"  I  was,"  returned  the  younger  man,  "  but  I 
think  I  have  just  secured  one." 

Foster  plainly  evinced  disappointment.  He 
sighed.  "  You  impress  me  as  being  just  the  man 
to  whom  I  could  have  made  a  splendid  offer. 
Well,  I  suppose  I'm  wasting  your  time  as  well  as 
my  own." 


A  TICKET  TO  UTOPIA  201 

A  touch  of  caution  came  to  Chester.  "  I  haven't 
got  it  yet"  he  said,  "  and  when  it  comes  right 
down  to  it  I  don't  know  that  I  shall  get  it  either." 

"  Mr.  Smith,"  said  Foster  impressively,  "  I 
need  a  man  of  breeding,  a  man  of  the  world,  and 
above  all  a  man  of  high  personal  courage." 

"  You're  a  most  remarkable  person,"  said  the 
other.  "  Pray,  Mr.  Foster,  have  you  ever  fallen 
in  with  Prince  Florizel  of  Bohemia  ?  " 

Foster  looked  at  him  closely.  "  I  don't  recall 
the  name,"  he  answered.  "  To  return  to  my  mis- 
sion —  I  may  tell  you  in  confidence  I  am  acting 
for  a  bigger  man  than  I;  a  man  who  controls 
millions,  whose  name  is  a  household  word.  At 
present  he  is  away  from  the  city  but  I  keep  in 
close  touch  with  him  and  act  for  him.  In  fact," 
Mr.  Foster  of  Massachusetts  affirmed,  "  I  am 
his  fidus  Achates.  If  you  fulfill  the  conditions  I 
lay  down,  my  proposition  will  interest  you,  but 
if  for  all  your  bold  exterior,  you  have  no  appetite 
for  danger,  say  so  and  we  will  go  our  several 
ways." 

"  Really,"  said  Chester  doubtfully,  "  one  can't 
exactly  advertise  one's  self  as  possessing  the  neces- 
sary courage  without  overstepping  the  bounds  of 
the  breeding  which  is  also  a  condition." 


202  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I  could  wish  for  no  better  answer,"  the  elder 
man  exclaimed.  "  You  could  not  have  pleased 
me  better.  To  come  to  the  point,  will  you  dine 
with  me  tonight  at  my  hotel  at  half-past  seven  ?  " 
He  named  a  great  uptown  hostelry  which,  although 
the  most  exclusive  classes  did  not  frequent  it, 
was  yet  very  expensive  and  modern.  "  Just  ask 
for  me,"  said  Foster,  "  and  if  I'm  not  waiting  for 
you,  come  up  into  my  rooms." 

Chester  stared  after  him  in  amazement.  To 
be  offered  two  such  chances  within  the  hour  was 
staggering.  He  could  dine  very  well  at  the  hotel 
and  go  on  to  Washington  as  he  had  arranged,  if 
he  had  not  already  secured  this  mysterious  ap- 
pointment. 

Peck,  hearing  the  joyous  news,  prophesied  great 
things,  and  demanded  to  be  given  the  position 
which  his  friend  discarded.  It  was  with  difficulty 
that  the  necessary  money  was  raised  for  the 
transportation  and  the  possible  expenses  in  the 
Capital.  Funds  by  this  time  were  almost  ex- 
hausted and  Chester  had  parted  with  much  of  his 
wardrobe. 

Mr.  Foster  was  waiting  in  the  gorgeous  lobby 
and  steered  him  to  a  secluded  seat  in  the  corner  of 
the  overHDrnate  dining   salon.     "  We   sha'n't   be 


A  TICKET  TO  UTOPIA  203 

overheard  here,"  he  said.  Then  calling  the  head 
waiter  by  his  first  name,  he  demanded  the  wine 
list,  and  looked  down  it  carefully.  He  scanned 
it  for  a  few  moments  in  silence  and  then  turned 
suddenly  to  his  companion.  "  Can  you  order  a 
good  dinner?  "  he  asked. 

Chester  smiled.  "  I  have  some  skill  in  it,"  he 
said. 

"  I  shall  test  it,"  said  Foster.  "  Between  our- 
selves, my  client  is  rather  fond  of  the  pleasures 
of  the  table  and  will  appreciate  your  discernment, 
on  which  I  shall  report." 

The  head  waiter  found  in  Chester  a  man  who 
did  indeed  know  how  to  order  a  dinner,  and  ap- 
preciated such  knowledge.  There  were  too  many 
of  the  great  hotel's  customers  who  enjoyed 
dinners  only  when  they  cost  inordinately.  And 
since  Foster  insisted  that  no  expense  was  to  be 
spared  the  best  brand  of  champagne,  though  not 
the  one  most  advertised,  was  opened. 

"  I  am  extraordinarily  hungry  tonight,"  said 
the  Massachusetts  man,  who  had  spoken  little 
during  the  course  of  the  meal.  He  did  not  wax 
communicative  until  dessert  brought  with  it  a 
bottle  of  tawny  port  which  had  lain  in  cobwebs 
since  1863.    Then  he  selected  the  most  expensive 


204  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

of  the  cigars  brought  for  selection  and  demanded 
that  the  box  be  left  upon  the  table.  He  leaned 
back  in  absolute  satisfaction  and  fixed  Chester 
with  a  glittering  eye.  "  When  you  know  the 
character  and  calibre  of  the  man  with  whom  you 
will  be  associated,  you  will  be  surprised." 

"  I'm  that  already,"  said  Chester.  "  I  wish 
you'd  be  definite.  It's  getting  late  and  I  have 
a  train  to  catch." 

Foster  smiled.  "  I  prophesy  that  you  won't 
catch  it,"  he  said.  "  Now,  to  business.  Do  you 
know  anything  of  Dutch  Guiana.''" 

"  Not  a  word,"  Chester  returned. 

"  That's  of  no  moment,"  Foster  said.  "  I'll 
tell  you,  Dutch  Guiana  is  a  country  about  as  big 
as  this  State  and  it's  incredibly  rich."  He  tapped 
his  breast  pocket.  "  I  have  here  a  letter  from 
my  friend,  who  will  be  in  New  York  at  latest  in  a 
week's  time,  saying  that  he  has  at  last  got  the  con- 
cession he's  been  after  from  the  Holland  Govern- 
ment. It  makes  my  friend  incredibly  rich;  I 
shall  become  merely  a  millionaire  and  as  to  you 
—  if  you  make  good,  by  this  time  next  year  you 
will  be  drawing  a  salary  of  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  a  year." 

"  But  what  for?  "  Chester  asked. 


A  TICKET  TO  UTOPIA  205 

"  You  will  be  out  there  in  Guiana  acting  as  our 
confidential  man." 

*'  But  the  salary  is  gigantic,"  he  objected. 

"  So  will  your  risks  be,"  said  Foster.  "  There 
are  hostile  natives,  and  we  have  to  protect  our 
miners,  our  gold,  our  machinery,  our  lives  from 
them,  and  it  isn't  easy.  There's  a  party  in  the 
Dutch  parliament  opposed  to  us,  and  if  they  get 
an  inkling  that  a  few  niggers  have  been  executed 
for  murder  they'll  raise  a  popular  agitation  and 
we  shall  lose  our  concession.  We  want  a  man 
who  can  command.  We  want  a  man  who  can 
gain  the  respect  of  the  high  Dutch  officials,  and 
we  want  a  healthy  man  who  won't  die  of  fever. 
Mr.  Smith,  do  you  think  we  can  pick  up  a  man 
like  that  for   twenty-five   dollars   a   week.''  " 

Unmistakable  enthusiasm  shone  in  Foster's 
eyes.  "  If  we  could  we  should  have  hired  him 
long  ago.  The  man  will  have  the  handling  of 
millions  —  he  will  be  absolute  master;  he  will 
have  to  account  for  everything.  Is  it  likely  we 
could  find  that  man  waiting  for  us  in  every 
agency.''  " 

Auriferous  dreams  chased  themselves  through 
Chester's  brain.  It  was  a  chance  here  offered 
compared  with  which  the  commission  merchant 


206  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

in  Leonard  Street  faded  away  to  insignificance. 
But  he  had  a  remnant  of  caution  left.  "  But  why 
in  these  five  and  a  half  millions  did  you  pick  on 
me.f*"  he  demanded. 

"  Personality,"  returned  Foster.  "  I  liked  your 
personality  and  I  am  also  a  believer  in  luck.  I 
was  thinking  I'should  never  find  the  man  I  wanted, 
when  there  you  were  standing  before  me  like 
magic,  so  to  speak.  I  shall  of  course  have  to  in- 
vestigate you,  but  that  you  won't  mind." 

"  I  haven't  had  much  business  experience," 
Chester  said  dubiously. 

"  You  can  hire  men  to  attend  to  details,"  Foster 
said  impatiently.  "  You  are  wanted  for  something 
bigger  than  that.  Do  you  suppose  I  can't  get  all 
the  good  business  men  I  want  by  putting  an  ad 
in  the  Sunday  Herald?  " 

He  sat  for  a  moment  in  thought.  "  Look  here," 
he  said  with  a  change  of  voice,  "  I  like  you, 
Smith,  and  I'll  be  a  friend  to  you.  If  you  trust  me 
blindly  and  place  whatever  sum  of  money  you 
may  be  able  to  raise  into  my  hands  at  once,  say 
a  thousand  dollars,  within  thirty  days  this  in- 
vestment will  more  than  surprise  you." 

Chester's  heart  sank  and  he  cursed  himself 
for  a  fool  that  he  had   been   so  taken   in.     "  I 


A  TICKET  TO  UTOPIA  207 

couldn't  raise  any  sum  of  money  at  all,"  he  said 
shortly. 

Foster's  face  betrayed  no  disappointment. 
"  That's  a  pity,"  he  said.  "  I'm  sorry.  I'm  in 
this  thing  up  to  the  limit  and  I  wouldn't  advise 
anyone  to  go  into  a  scheme  that  wasn't  good 
enough  for  me." 

"  I  suppose  the  thing's  oflF  then  ? "  Chester 
asked  quietly. 

"  Nothing  of  the  kind,"  returned  Foster.  "  This 
was  merely  an  opportunity  for  you  to  make  a  bit 
apart  from  that.  It  was  an  offer  to  come  in  as  a 
kind  of  partner  instead  of  drawing  your  salary 
as  an  official  alone.  I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do.  I'll 
back  you  to  the  extent  of  nine  hundred  dollars. 
That  means  you  have  only  to  get  one  hundred  by 
tomorrow  at  midday.  I  shall  ask  no  obligation 
from  you  for  the  sum  I  lend.  You  can  pay  me 
back  when  it  is  convenient." 

Chester  rose  to  his  feet.  "  If  you'd  only  said 
this  when  we  first  met,  this  misunderstanding 
could  have  been  saved.  I  have  no  hundred  dol- 
lars to  invest.     I  haven't  anything." 

"  I  didn't  know  when  I  met  you  this  morning 
that  I  would  care  to  let  you  in  on  this,"  Foster 
answered.     "  It  only  occurred  to  me  a  few  min- 


208  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

utes  ago.  Sit  down,  sit  down,  there's  plenty  of 
time." 

"  Let's  have  a  better  understanding,"  Chester 
said  gravely.  "  I  repeat  that  I  have  not  one  cent 
to  invest.  How  does  that  affect  my  chances  to 
go  out  to  Dutch  Guiana  at  a  big  salary  .f*  " 

"  In  no  way  whatever,"  Foster  cried.  "  My 
dear  young  man,  what  a  low  opinion  you  must 
have  of  me!  No,  no,  don't  apologize,"  he  con- 
tinued. "  It's  the  sort  of  caution  you  must  have, 
to  be  the  help  to  us  I  anticipate."  He  handed  the 
cigars  to  the  other  and  then  slipped  half  a  dozen 
in  his  vest  pocket.  As  he  did  so  he  showed  them 
to  the  head  waiter,  who  was  passing.  There  was 
no  thought  of  concealment,  as  Chester  saw. 

"  This  is  the  brand  I  always  smoke,"  he  said. 
"  And  we  mustn't  run  out  of  them  on  our  little 
walk  down  Broadway.  Now,"  he  continued, 
rising,  "  up  in  my  room  I  have  a  plan  of  our  con- 
cession and  when  you  are  in  Washington  you 
might  get  a  few  particulars  from  a  friend  of  mine 
there  on  the  legal  complications  that  might 
arise  —  "  He  broke  off.  "  I  guess  I  won't  worry 
you  about  that  now.  It  will  do  later  if  you  run 
down  and  see  him.  But  I'll  get  that  map  all  the 
same.    Wait  just  two  minutes." 


A  TICKET  TO  UTOPIA  209 

Chester  almost  welcomed  his  absence  and 
sipped  his  coffee  in  a  mood  incomprehensibly 
glad.  And  his  thoughts  of  advance  in  Guiana 
brought  him  to  Norah.  She  would  be  glad.  She 
had  always  said  he  could  make  good  and  would 
some  day  be  offered  a  great  opportunity.  The 
odd  jobs  he  had  done  so  far  were  not  opportuni- 
ties at  all.  This  was  the  fate-directed  chance. 
As  a  distant  tribute  to  Dutch  progress,  he  ordered 
two  curacaos.  He  was  not  so  much  conscious  of 
Foster's  absence  as  of  the  fact  that  the  head 
waiter  kept  making  unnecessary  visits  to  the 
table.  At  last  Chester  grew  uneasy  and  beckoned 
the  man.  "  You'd  oblige  me,"  he  said,  "  by  send- 
ing to  Mr.  Foster's  room  and  telling  him  his  coffee 
is  getting  cold." 

"  What  name  shall  I  say.''  "  he  asked. 

Chester  smiled.  "  Say  Mr.  Smith  of  Man- 
hattan," he  answered. 

The  head  waiter  speedily  returned.  "  There  is 
no  such  guest  in  the  house,"  he  said  icily. 

"  That's  absurd,"  cried  Chester.  "  He  lives  here. 
You  surely  know  him  by  sight?  He  dines  here 
habitually." 

"  What  sort  of  a  game  do  you  think  you're 
putting  up } "  demanded  the  head  waiter.     He 


210  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

took  the  bill  from  a  subordinate  and  handed  it 
to  Chester  courteously.  "  I  see  you  had  ten  of 
those  cigars,"  he  said.  "  They're  a  dollar 
apiece." 

"  But  I  was  his  guest,"  protested  Chester.  "  I 
was  asked  to  dine  with  him." 

"  You  ordered  the  dinner,"  said  the  other.  "  It 
comes  to  thirty-three  dollars  and  fifty  cents,"  he 
concluded. 

A  stout  gentleman  at  the  adjoining  table  heard 
this  conversation  and  called  his  companion's  at- 
tention to  it.  "  Gee,"  he  declared  admiringly, 
"if  I  only  had  that  fellow's  gall!"  Unfriendly 
eyes  watched  Chester  go  through  his  pockets. 
There  was  just  half  the  amount  of  the  bill.  It 
represented  his  entire  fortune.  He  looked  at  the 
head  waiter,  who  was  used  to  fraud  of  most  kinds. 
"  I  haven't  another  cent,"  he  told  him. 

"  But  you  can  no  doubt  get  it,"  the  man  sug- 
gested.    "What  is  your  address.''" 

His  face  hardened  when  he  heard  it.  People 
living  on  East  Sixty-ninth  Street  between  First 
and  Second  Avenues  are  not  wont  to  order  lavish 
dinners  and  smoke  dollar  cigars.  He  signaled  to 
a  neatly  dressed  man,  who  came  over  to  Chester's 
side  and  showed  his  detective's  badge.     "  It's  no 


A  TICKET  TO  UTOPIA  211 

use  in  making  trouble,"  said  the  quietly  dressed 
man.    "  It  looks  bad  and  don't  help  any." 

As  the  Washington  Limited  pulled  out  of  Jersey 
City  an  hour  later,  Chester  was  sharing  a  police 
cell  with  joy-riding  chauffeurs  and  outcasts  in 
various  stages  of  intoxication.  In  the  morning  he 
was  permitted  to  send  for  Peck,  who  came  in  hot 
haste.  He  promised  to  see  the  hotel  proprietor 
and  see  if  the  case  could  be  settled.  And  this  he 
did,  for  when  the  case  was  called  no  witnesses  ap- 
peared against  him  and  Chester  was  discharged. 
The  formerly  sanguine  young  man  at  the  employ- 
ment agency  regarded  his  chance  of  ultimate  suc- 
cess as  small.  "  You  might  get  him  at  Savannah," 
he  said,  "  but  it's  a  risk.     Do  you  care  to  try  it.?  " 

Chester  shook  his  head.  "  I  can't  afford  to," 
he  said. 

"  I'll  write,"  the  other  told  him,  "  and  if  any- 
thing turns  up  ril  let  you  know.  Call  in  again. 
Good  morning." 

Thus  it  was  that  the  commission  business  in 
Leonard  Street  and  the  concession  in  Dutch 
Guiana  showed  smiling  faces  for  a  moment,  then, 
like  mirages  in  the  desert,  faded  away. 


CHAPTER  XI 

UNDER    QUEENSBERRY    RULES 

"  When  Heaven  is  about  to  confer  a  great  office  on  any  man,  It 
first  exercises  his  mind  with  suffering,  and  his  sinews  and  bones  with 
toil.  It  exposes  his  body  to  hunger,  subjects  him  to  extreme  poverty, 
and  confounds  his  undertakings.  In  all  these  ways  it  stimulates  his 
mind,  strengthens  his  nature,  and  supplies  his  incompetencies."  — 
Mencius. 

THE  two  comrades  found  themselves  re- 
duced to  a  sorry  plight.  Without  money, 
without  position,  with  the  thermometer 
dropping  and  the  rigors  of  winter  upon  them,  they 
began  to  suffer.  They  experienced  to  the  full 
those  hardships  inseparable  from  their  condition 
in  a  city  over-thronged  with  applicants  for  work 
who  were  better  fitted  than  they  for  the  compe- 
tition. Now  and  then  they  secured  temporary 
jobs,  often  at  work  which  was  repulsive,  and  man- 
aged to  keep  their  room  and  partake  of  a  meal  a 
day,  but  it  was  a  bitter  struggle  that  sapped 
even  Chester's  hope  at  times.  Each  week  he 
would  inquire  from  Biggs  if  any  communications 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES  213 

had  come  for  him,  but  the  answer  was  always  the 
same.  Latterly  he  had  taken  to  spending  a  nickel 
for  a  telephone  call;  he  did  not  want  Enderby  to 
see  that  he  was  becoming  shabby.  Unjustly,  he 
still  blamed  his  old  companion  for  lack  of  interest 
now  that  he  was  fortuneless,  not  knowing  that 
there  were  many  weary  hours  when  the  lawyer 
thought  of  him  with  affection  and  regret. 

It  was  always  after  this  call  at  Enderby's 
office  that  his  old  life  was  brought  back  with 
peculiar  vividness.  He  knew  that  no  one  man  was 
ever  indispensable  to  the  happiness  of  a  set,  but 
he  was  not  guilty  of  conceit  when  he  admitted  that 
he  had  always  been  a  leader  in  pleasures  and 
sports.  The  Meadowbrook  men  must  miss  him, 
the  polo  enthusiasts  at  Point  Judith  must  wonder 
what  had  become  of  their  famous  number  two, 
and  he  would  be  talked  about  in  those  great  Long 
Island  country  houses  where  he  had  always  been 
ready  to  dance  till  daybreak  or  organize  theatri- 
cals or  arrange  gymkhanas. 

And  his  defection,  his  inexplicable  dropping 
out,  had,  indeed,  brought  sorrow  to  more  than  one 
old  friend.  Many  conjectures  were  made  as  to  the 
cause  but  the  data  they  had  to  go  on  was  small. 
At  the  last  game  of  cards  Chester  had  been  abso- 


214  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

lutely  sober  and  had  paid  his  very  large  losses 
with  his  customary  air  of  good  humor.  Osmund 
and  Frankel  spoke  of  it  openly  and  had  no  definite 
reasons  for  attributing  his  absence  to  their  gains. 
Only  Enderby,  when  appealed  to,  developed  a 
certain  air  of  irritation.  "  When  he  feels  good  and 
ready,"  he  snapped,  "  Chester  will  come  back." 
The  lawyer  told  nobody  of  the  interview  after 
the  card  game  or  the  visit  to  his  Wall  Street  office. 
It  would  argue,  he  felt,  a  certain  ungraciousness 
on  his  friend's  part,  and  he  was  too  loyal  to  wish 
this  idea  to  get  abroad. 

Very  often,  during  the  dreary  months,  Chester 
would  come  by  night  to  Norah's  house  and  look 
up,  from  the  shadow  of  the  trees  opposite,  to 
the  great  house  whose  windows  were  brilliantly 
lighted.  A  shadow  at  a  blind  made  his  heart 
beat  quicker.  It  might,  he  thought,  be  the  slim 
figure  of  the  girl  who  was  responsible  for  the  fact 
that  he  had  not  yet  lost  his  courage.  He  was  no 
longer  tempted  to  write  to  her.  He  was  confi- 
dent that  when  the  time  was  ripe  the  mining 
man  she  spoke  of  would  send  for  him.  To  that 
end  he  spent  many  hours  in  the  Astor  Library 
and  the  reading-room  of  the  Cooper  Union  —  a 
less  pleasant  resort  but  open  sometimes  at  more 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES    215 

convenient  hours  —  where  he  read  eagerly  books 
on  mining  and  metallurgy. 

Once  when  he  was  watching  the  house  in  Fifth 
Avenue  the  door  opened  and  he  saw  some  ladies 
in  opera  cloaks  descend  to  the  limousine  car  in 
waiting.  He  hurried  off  lest  she  might  catch 
a  glimpse  of  him  and  be  disappointed  at  his 
raiment.  He  wanted  her  to  think  of  him  as  one 
who  was  succeeding.  This  weary  waiting  for 
better  things  was  little  to  a  Chester's  liking,  but 
it  was  a  discipline  which  insensibly  gave  him  a 
steadfast  strength  which  had  never  been  his 
before.  And  he  gained,  too,  in  those  months  a 
broader  sympathy  with  his  fellows  and  a  knowl- 
edge of  life  which  could  never  allow  him  to  sink 
back  into  the  careless  existence  that  lay  behind 
him. 

Peck  was  the  first  of  them  to  get  work.  He 
came  in  radiant  to  the  Second  Avenue  restaurant 
one  night  to  explain  that  he  had  been  appointed 
as  a  member  of  a  crew  of  men  who  were  deliver- 
ing samples  to  various  cities.  The  art  of  deliver- 
ing samples,  he  explained,  was  not  one  which  re- 
quired technical  training,  but  more  than  appear- 
ance, celerity  or  personality  was  a  character  for 
honesty.    He  had  been  informed  by  the  man  who 


216  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

engaged  him  that  the  samples  and  literature  of 
advertising  campaigns  were  oftentimes  not  dis- 
tributed at  all  but  dropped  into  some  neighboring 
sewer.  The  men  with  whom  Peck  was  to  travel 
had  been  vouched  for  as  reliable.  He  would  re- 
ceive one  dollar  a  day  and  all  expenses,  and  his 
rail  fare  would  be  paid  to  Philadelphia,  the  first 
city  of  his  activities.  He  was  sorry  to  leave  Ches- 
ter and  grieved  that  he  could  not  get  him  a  simi- 
lar position,  but  swore  to  report  the  first  reprehen- 
sible act  of  his  companions  and  recommend  his 
friend  for  the  vacancy. 

New  York  without  his  friend  was  very  dull  to 
Chester,  who  lived  for  a  fortnight  after  his  depart- 
ure on  the  remnants  of  his  wardrobe;  every  night 
found  him  feverishly  rubbing  up  his  surveying 
and  assaying.  Then,  unexpectedly,  he  obtained  a 
job.  He  was  wandering  along  Greenwich  Street 
one  day  when  outside  a  trucking  stable  he  saw  a 
sign  hanging,  "  Driver  Wanted." 

He  went  into  the  yard  and  was  interviewed  by 
the  "  boss,"  who  was  always  associated  in  his 
mind  with  a  red  tie,  a  stub  of  evil-smelling  cigar 
and  a  large  ear  constantly  glued  to  the  telephone. 
The  boss  glanced  at  the  applicant  without  en- 
thusiasm.    He  had  just  interviewed  two  others 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES  217 

far  more  to  his  liking,  but  they  had  sundry  bad 
records  against  them.  One  In  moments  of  alco- 
holic aberration  was  used  to  dispose  of  his  horses 
to  the  highest  bidder  and  with  cronies  of  his  kind 
imbibe  the  proceeds.  The  other  had  been  in 
state  prisons  and  was  under  the  constant  super- 
visioij  of  the  police.  Green  men,  new  to  the  city, 
were  easily  to  be  had  —  there  were  employment 
agencies  for  aliens  at  every  corner,  but  he  needed 
a  man  who  knew  the  city.  Finally,  since  time  was 
an  object,  he  took  Chester  on  probation  and  led 
him  into  the  stable  and  he  was  shown  his 
team. 

They  were  great  seventeen-hand  bays  in  excel- 
lent condition,  and  one  of  them  —  he  was  roman- 
nosed  and  had  over-much  white  in  his  eyes  — 
possessed  a  savage  disposition.  He  evinced 
this  when,  at  the  foreman's  command,  his  new 
driver  started  to  harness  him.  This  was,  strictly 
speaking,  not  a  driver's  work,  but  the  boss  in- 
variably chose  this  as  a  test  for  sizing  up  a  new 
man.  Caligula  —  for  so  Chester  called  the  bad- 
tempered  bay,  and  thus  named  he  still  frets  his 
way  along  West  Street  —  seeing  a  new  man,  es- 
sayed his  usual  disquieting  tricks,  while  his  stall- 
mates    and    the    stable   hands  watched    gleefully. 


218  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Caligula's  equine  sense  of  humor  was  in  its  essence 
unkind.  There  was  nothing  he  enjoyed  so  much 
as  when  the  halter  was  taken  from  him  as  penning 
his  man  in  a  corner  of  his  box  and  there  biting  at 
him.  And  had  Chester  been  a  man  unused  to 
horses  he  might  have  provided  more  sport,  but 
he  noted  the  bay's  wicked  eye  and  suddenly 
gripped  him  by  the  tender  part  of  the  nozzle  and 
slipped  the  bridle  over  his  head  and  bitted  him 
before  the  animal  could  understand  what  had 
happened. 

"  Ain't  the  first  time  he's  been  near  a  horse," 
the  boss  grunted.  The  yard  foreman  said  nothing. 
He  disliked  the  new  man  at  first  sight.  He  was 
wont  to  assert  that  any  fool  could  drive  a  carriage 
and  pair,  but  it  took  a  driver  to  steer  a  truck  in 
lower  Manhattan.  And  Chester  found  he  was 
right,  for  the  heavy  van  with  its  loose-swinging 
pole  demanded  a  knack  with  which  he  was  as 
yet  unfamiliar.  He  showed  this  when  driving  out 
of  the  yard,  for  Caligula,  going  furiously  at  his 
collar,  swung  the  truck  round  at  a  dangerous 
pace.  Lacking  an  overcoat  —  for  Peck  had  one 
and  a  pawnbroker  the  other  —  Chester  made 
himself  a  cloak  of  sacking  and  started  upon  his 
day's  work.    It  was  so  cold  that  he  was  forced  to 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES  219 

expend  a  grudged  thirty-five  cents  for  a  pair  of 
driving  gloves. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  of  his  first  day  he  dis- 
covered an  ancient  enemy  in  the  shape  of  the 
policeman  regulating  traffic  by  the  Barclay 
Street  crossing  on  West  Street.  A  few  weeks  pre- 
viously he  had  engaged  in  an  altercation  with  him 
over  a  gross  case  of  cruelty  to  animals.  His 
ready  sympathies  had  been  engaged  at  the  sight 
of  an  old  white  horse  driven  by  a  Greek,  Spavined, 
laminitic,  with  capped  knees  and  hocks,  the  poor 
beast  suffered  from  every  equine  infirmity  and 
was  even  to  a  child's  eye  unfit  for  work.  When 
the  officer  refused  to  interfere,  Chester  gave  him 
such  a  tongue-lashing  that  he  narrowly  escaped 
arrest.  It  was  this  inefficient  policeman  who 
observed  with  glee  Chester  handling  his  team  of 
bays.  An  officer's  power  is  great  on  West  Street 
and  he  proceeded  to  make  his  enemy's  life  a 
burden. 

To  one  like  Chester,  who,  although  a  New 
Yorker,  did  not  know  the  various  ferries  used  by 
the  many  express  companies  or  the  docks  usually 
driven  to  by  them,  there  was  much  to  learn.  And 
this  lack  of  knowledge  brought  his  horses  into  dire 
peril  of   collision.      Fate   usually  halted   him   for 


220  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

one  reason  or  another  directly  before  the  jubilant 
constable. 

He  would  raise  a  hand  and  stay  Chester's  course 
while  a  score  of  other  vans  were  allowed  passage. 
And  when  other  truckmen  learned  that  the  auto- 
crat of  the  crossing  "  had  it  in  "  for  the  new  man, 
whom  they  disliked  on  general  principles,  they 
aided  him.  There  were  certain  hours  in  West 
Street  when  the  traffic  was  especially  dense,  a 
mass  of  horses  and  vans,  with  the  little  horse-cars 
sandwiched  whistling  in  between.  In  those  mo- 
ments the  harried  pedestrian  would  seek  the 
shelter  of  the  wood  islands  of  refuge  and  thus 
escape  the  hurrying  streams.  It  became  a  very 
merry  sport  among  the  younger  truckmen  to 
drive  Chester  at  the  expense  of  his  bays'  legs  di- 
rectly in  front  of  these  islands  and  there  keep  him 
nursed  until  traffic  ceased. 

Few  cities  have  thoroughfares  where  heavier 
vehicular  traffic  is  seen  than  New  York's  West 
Street,  and  fewer  still  have  more  abominable 
paving.  Hardly  to  be  escaped  are  the  many  con- 
cavities wherein  wheels  may  sink,  and  a  heavily 
laden  truck  may  remain  there,  a  wheel  in  a  hole, 
the  driver  finding  a  difficulty  in  extricating  it 
without    extraneous    aid.     As  a  rule  some  good 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES  221 

Samaritan  comes  along  and  by  his  own  initiative 
or  the  request  of  a  policeman  —  who  as  a  rule 
manages  these  things  admirably  —  hitches  an 
empty  van  to  the  laden  one  and  hauls  it  from  its 
predicament. 

Hauling  a  heavy  load  of  canned  goods  one  day 
Chester's  wheel  found  such  a  pit  and  he  stood  in 
need  of  help.  He  was  so  grateful  to  a  man  with 
a  three-horse  empty  truck  that  he  did  not  notice 
the  assisting  rope  formed  an  obtuse  angle  with  his 
pole.  Consequently  when  the  three  horses  went 
off  with  a  jerk,  instead  of  being  helped,  Caligula, 
straining  at  his  collar,  was  thrown  off  his  balance 
and  fell  with  the  benign  Julius  Caesar  on  top  of 
him.  The  incident  was  richly  humorous  to  the 
onlookers  and  gave  the  chuckling  policeman  in- 
numerable opportunities  of  airing  a  nimble  wit. 
The  horses,  fortunately,  were  undamaged  and  the 
harness  was  not  much  the  worse.  The  foreman's 
quick  eye  noticed  it,  however,  and  he  said  things 
which  Chester  strove  not  to  answer.  But  his 
temper  was  not  improved  by  the  physical  suffering 
brought  about  by  hunger  and  fatigue  and  he 
presently  gave  the  man  the  lie  direct.  For  a  mo- 
ment he  thought  the  foreman  was  going  to  spring 
at  him  but  the  incident  passed  without  blows. 


222  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

The  following  night  when  he  brought  his  horses 
into  their  stable  and  was  supplementing  the 
stableman's  efforts  to  groom  them,  the  foreman, 
Boyle  by  name,  called  out,  "  Hi  there,  you,  I 
want  a  word  when  you're  through." 

"  All  right,"  Chester  responded  briefly;  he 
supposed  it  had  to  do  with  the  morrow's  work. 
"  Well.?  "  he  demanded  a  minute  later,  "  what  is 
it.''  "  He  was  tired,  sore  from  lifting  heavy  weights, 
and  he  desired  sleep  more  than  anything  else,  and 
wanted  to  hasten  back  to  his  room  and  forget  his 
surroundings. 

"  You  called  me  a  liar  last  night,"  snarled 
Boyle.     "  Did  you  mean  it.?  " 

Chester  saw  that  half  a  dozen  other  men  were 
gathered  near;  something  evidently  was  pre- 
meditated. "  Yes,"  he  said  squarely.  He  flushed 
at  the  remembrance  of  the  quarrel. 

"  No  man  calls  me  a  liar  and  gets  away  with 
it,"  said  Boyle  slowly,  "  and  you  ain't  going 
to  neither." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it.?  "  Ches- 
ter asked. 

"  I'm  going  to  lick  you,"  the  foreman  said. 

Chester  cast  his  eye  over  the  other's  form  and 
was  not  reassured  thereby.     Of  his  own  height, 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES  223 

the  man  was  tremendously  broad,  with  great  arms 
and  shoulders  promising  abnormal  strength;  he 
remembered  seeing  the  man  lift  some  lead  piping 
that  two  others  were  straining  with.  Ranged 
behind  the  foreman  were  now  a  dozen  men,  drivers, 
stable  helpers  and  hangers-on,  all  playing  for 
popularity  with  the  bully.  They  regarded  this 
raw  hand  as  another  chopping  block  for  their 
champion. 

The  foreman  was  certain  of  victory  and  offered 
an  alternative.  "  If  y'er  afraid,"  he  sneered, 
"  you  can  apologize.  Get  right  down  on  your 
knees  and  tell  the  boys  you  are  a  dirty  liar  and 
I'll  let  yer  go."  He  spoke  with  a  sudden  snarl 
that  showed  his  strong  yellow  teeth.  "  Which  is 
it.?  " 

"  It  won't  be  apologizing,"  returned  Chester, 
still  outwardly  calm. 

"  You  want  a  licking  then!  " 

"  It  won't  be  that  either,"  his  driver  told  him. 
There  was  a  look  of  consternation  on  the  face  of 
his  audience.  Were  they  to  be  cheated  of  their 
sport.''    Was  he  going  to  call  police  aid  and  escape.? 

Boyle  grinned.  "  That  won't  work,"  he  cried. 
"  All  the  doors  is  locked  and  you  can't  get  out.'* 

Chester  looked  at  him  with  a  scorn  that  stung. 


224  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

*'  If  you  were  a  little  thicker  in  the  head,"  he  re- 
marked, "  there  wouldn't  be  any  room  for  your 
eyes  in  your  skull.  Do  you  suppose  I  want  to 
run  away  from  a  broken-down  tough  like 
you?" 

"  You  will  before  I'm  through  with  you," 
Boyle  cried.  "  We  usually  pull  these  little  events 
off  in  the  loft  overhead.    That  agreeable?  " 

"  I  don't  mind  where  you're  licked,"  returned 
Chester.  He  was  filled  with  a  rage  that  was 
almost  ungovernable.  Weak  in  body,  with  blis- 
tered hands  and  absolutely  out  of  condition,  he 
was  to  be  butchered  to  make  a  truckmen's  holiday. 
A  year  ago  he  would  have  taken  odds  on  himself 
with  easy  mind;  but  a  year  ago  he  was  in  train- 
ing and  weighed  a  hundred  and  ninety  pounds. 
Today,  with  months  of  insufficient  feeding,  he 
turned  the  scale  at  thirty  pounds  less.  He  deter- 
mined to  try  the  professional  scheme  of  making 
his  opponent  blindly  angry. 

"  It  would  be  safer,"  he  said  urbanely,  "  to 
get  yourself  a  padded  floor  before  I  start." 

Boyle  was  too  astonished  to  be  angry.  He  was 
not  acquainted  with  that  phrase  of  the  unknown 
poet  which  runs,  "  Quem  Jupiter  vult  perdere 
dementat  prius,"  but  he  had  his  own  adaptation 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES  225 

of  it.  He  turned  to  his  friends.  "  The  guy  must 
be  nutty,"  he  exclaimed. 

The  large  loft  was  well  lighted  with  gas  and  an 
improvised  ring  answered  the  purpose  well  enough. 
A  sporting  saloon-keeper  from  West  Broadway, 
who  was  introduced  facetiously  as  Mr.  O'Grady 
a  well  known  Parisian  referee,  consented  to  act 
in  an  official  capacity.  He  had  refereed  other 
fights  in  this  big  room,  which  was  conveniently 
set  back  from  the  street,  and  arranged  details 
quickly. 

The  spectators,  used  to  seeing  their  foreman 
victorious,  were  sorry  for  Chester  In  a  sneaking 
way  and  many  of  them  cordially  hated  Boyle,  but 
they  could  not  afford  to  seem  other  than  his 
partisans.  Boyle's  word  always  "  went  "  with 
the  boss,  and  they  were  all  men  with  families  and 
nothing  saved. 

Chester,  white-faced  but  smiling,  stripped  but 
poorly  when  compared  with  his  burly  enemy.  He 
kept  up  a  stinging  fire  of  taunts,  but  they  were 
either  too  subtle  for  the  other  or  else  Boyle  was 
too  confident  of  triumph  to  heed  them,  for  they 
had  not  apparently  worried  him.  He  would  know 
as  soon  as  they  started  what  chance  he  had,  and 
the  time  listening  for  O'Grady's  signal  passed  like 


226  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

hours.  The  only  sound  he  could  hear  was  the 
thumping  of  his  heart  against  his  ill  covered 
ribs. 

Chester  soon  found  that  his  foe  was  slow  and 
knew  nothing  of  foot-work  or  the  finer  points  of 
the  game:  —  but  he  was  overwhelmingly  strong 
and  swung  thick  arms  like  flails  about  him.  On 
points  in  a  limited  bout  even  in  his  present  con- 
dition Chester  knew  he  could  outpoint  him,  but 
this  was  to  be  a  finish  fight  under  Queensberry 
rules  and  his  reserve  of  strength  could  not  last 
many  rounds. 

Boyle's  usual  opponents  were  vigorous  men  like 
himself,  who  waded  in  and  took  and  gave  all 
the  punishment  that  strength  unaided  by  science 
could  inflict.  But  here  was  an  adversary  who 
easily  evaded  his  terrific  swings  and  gibed  at  him 
the  while  and  pecked  him  daintily  on  the  mouth, 
nose  and  eye.  It  was  true  that  these  blows  lacked 
force,  but  they  stung  and  after  a  time  he  felt  his 
left  eye  was  closing.  He  became  irritated  beyond 
measure  and  shouted,  "  Why  don't  you  stand  up 
and  fight.''    What  are  you  running  away  for.''  " 

Chester  ducked  a  furious  jab  and  asked  with 
his  sneering  smile,  "  Were  you  trying  to  hit  me }  " 

Boyle,   whose   idea   of   defensive  fighting  was 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES  227 

elementary,  abandoned  whatever  of  caution  his 
adversary  had  inspired  in  him  and  made  terrific 
efforts  to  beat  down  Chester's  guard.  By  this 
time  the  men  were  cheering  wildly.  Those  who 
saw  in  Boyle's  cut  and  bleeding  face,  defeat,  now 
openly  cheered  for  Chester.  But  Chester  knew, 
and  O'Grady  and  such  as  were  skilled  in  ring 
craft,  that  it  would  take  more  than  this  to  stop 
the  big  man,  whereas  Chester  imperceptibly 
was  slowing  down.  His  nimble  foot-work  had  its 
disadvantages. 

Suddenly  Chester  changed  his  tactics  and  the 
fight  to  the  onlookers  became  less  spectacular.  If 
he  was  thin  from  want  of  food,  Boyle  was  plainly 
a  sinner  in  the  other  direction.  Chester  now  di- 
rected all  his  attention  to  body  punishment  and 
abandoned  to  some  extent  his  defensive  methods. 
Three  times  Boyle's  swings  caught  him,  each 
time  inflicting  heavy  punishment,  but  steadily 
he  played  his  game,  and  soon  Boyle  was  grunting 
in  discomfort. 

At  first  this  play  for  the  body  hurt  Chester 
more  than  his  opponent.  Under  the  vest  which 
he  had  not  deigned  to  take  off  Boyle  wore  sus- 
penders with  cruelly  large  buckles  and  they  cut 
Chester's  knuckles  when  a  blow  landed  on  them. 


228  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

O'Grady  saw  the  danger  and  yelled,  all  regard- 
less of  the  etiquette  of  the  referee,  "  Look  out 
for  your  kidneys,  Jim." 

But  Jim  was  too  maddened  with  desire  to  smash 
the  loathed  face  of  his  sneering  enemy,  to  take 
this  counsel.  And  a  sickening  fear  was  added  to 
his  rage  when  he  felt  fainter  and  knew  that  his 
blows  lacked  force.  He  made  a  gallant  effort 
to  finish  the  fight  before  it  was  too  late  but  he 
was  not  of  the  stuff  to  do  so.  When  the  last  call 
for  supreme  endurance  came  it  was  the  thorough- 
bred who  responded.  When  the  last  round  was 
begun  Chester  stepped  into  the  middle  of  the 
ring;  all  the  lights  in  the  room  seemed  like  red 
stars  a  long  way  off  and  the  faces  of  the  men  were 
blurred  and  out  of  focus  and  the  noise  had  died 
away  to  a  silence  like  that  of  death.  As  Boyle 
hurled  himself  in  a  despairing  effort  against  his 
frailer  antagonist,  Chester  nerved  himself  for  the 
supreme  effort.  When  his  last  blow  flashed  into 
Boyle's  gross  body  and  the  bully  fell,  he  could 
himself  barely  stand  upright.  Slowly,  reluctantly 
he  heard  O'Grady  count  out  the  fallen  man.  And 
it  was  not  until  then  that  he  fainted. 

Toward  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  he  tossed 
on   his   bed   almost  delirious.     He   thought  Mr. 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES  229 

O'Grady  was  torturing  him  with  red  hot  irons 
and  found  that  his  hands  had  swollen  up  to  an 
incredible  size.  It  took  him  an  hour  to  dress. 
His  clumsy  fingers  could  not  fasten  his  collar 
and  it  was  impossible  to  hold  a  razor.  For  the 
first  time  in  many  years  he  started  the  day 
unshaven. 

There  were  few  men  about  when  he  came  to 
the  yard.  Old  Mac,  a  stableman  who  had  never 
before  spoken,  offered  him  a  plug  of  tobacco  to 
chew  but  his  facial  inequalities  precluded  the 
acceptance  of  it.  His  horses  seemed  that  morning 
to  be  imbued  with  a  great  joy  of  living  and  lifted 
their  feet  as  though  they  were  hackneys.  This 
activity  on  their  part  added  to  the  torture  of 
holding  the  reins,  and  he  had  never  suffered  so 
acutely. 

Union  Square  at  this  time  stood  out  among 
New  York's  streets  as  monumentally  bad  for 
driving.  Some  repairs  to  the  car  tracks  had 
dropped  the  level  of  the  road  four  inches  from 
them  and  there  were  many  obstacles  to  encounter. 
It  so  happened  that  to  avert  a  collision  with  a 
trolley  Chester  was  forced  to  take  this  lower 
level.  The  jerk  almost  threw  him  off  his  seat  and 
the  reins,  hanging  for  the  moment  loose  on  his 


230  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

horses'  backs,  gave  them  the  opportunity  they 
desired  and  they  raced  up  Fourth  Avenue  at 
speed.  Phaethon  was  no  more  able  to  check  the 
steeds  of  Helios  than  Chester  to  control  his  great 
bays. 

An  unlucky  express  wagon  drawn  by  a  single 
horse  crossed  them  at  Eighteenth  Street.  Seeing 
it,  Caligula,  infusing  Julius  Caesar  with  his  spirit, 
sprang  forward.  Like  the  reincarnated  steeds  of 
some  ancient  British  war  chariot  they  bore  down 
on  the  obstructing  van  and  wrecked  it  instantly. 
It  was  not  until  his  team  was  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  by  the  Park  Avenue  Hotel  that  Chester 
got  them  under  control.  Then,  without  making 
inquiry  as  to  the  inflicted  damage,  he  called  at 
his  destination  on  the  East  Side. 

He  heard  nothing  of  the  accident  when  he  re- 
turned to  the  yard  and  hoped  that  it  would  go 
unreported.  It  was  a  rich  company  whose  van 
he  had  smashed  and  he  could  ill  afford  to  confess 
his  share  in  the  matter.  On  Saturday,  when  he 
was  back  from  a  long  and  wearisome  day's  work,  he 
saw  the  boss  casting  surly  looks  at  him.  At  seven 
he  had  cleaned  his  horses  and  himself  and  went 
to  the  office;  it  was  the  happy  moment  when  he 
would  receive  the  twelve  dollars  due  to  him.    The 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES    231 

office  was  small  and  wholly  occupied  by  the  boss, 
the  telephone  and  the  cuspidor. 

"  Why  didn't  you  report  that  accident?  "  the 
boss  demanded. 

"  I  hoped  they  wouldn't  find  out  who  did  it," 
Chester  returned. 

"  Well,  they  did,  see,"  snapped  the  other, 
"  and  I've  got  to  pay  for  a  half-baked  sissyfied 
college  boy  like  you."  Any  mark  of  unwelcome 
refinement  was  stamped  by  the  boss  as  proceeding 
from  a  centre  of  the  higher  education. 

"When  you  come  in,"  he  continued,  "  I  could  see 
you  was  no  good,  but  I  was  kind  'er  sorry  for  you  so 
I  put  you  on.  What  did  you  do  in  return  ?  You've 
broke  two  of  Boyle's  ribs  and  he's  out  of  business  for 
a  month,  and  then  you  go  and  let  me  in  for  three 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  worth  of  damages." 

"I'm  sorry,"  said  Chester  simply.  "It  was 
an  accident  pure  and  simple." 

"  Who  the  hell  cares  for  your  sorrow,"  snapped 
the  boss.  "  Is  that  going  to  pay  me  three  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.^"  He  tossed  the  pay  envelope 
to  the  other.  "  I  ought  to  hold  this  up  on  you  but 
you  might  come  around  worrying  and  I'd  pay 
twice  that  never  to  see  your  face  again."  He 
lashed  himself  into  a  fury,  "  See  here,  pinhead,  if 


232  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

ever  I  give  a  job  to  a  feller  like  you  again,  I'll  be 
chained  to  the  hottest  part  of  hell.  No,  sir,  I 
wouldn't,  not  if  you  was  to  come  with  your  tongue 
hanging  out  of  your  mouth." 

The  boss  concluded  with  a  string  of  polychro- 
matic oaths  which  commanded  attention  if  not 
respect.  It  was  a  fine  piece  of  invective  and  Ches- 
ter told  him  so. 

The  boss  looked  at  him  sourly.  "  Get  out,"  he 
said.    "  It  gives  me  a  pain  to  hear  your  voice." 

As  Richard  Chester  passed  into  the  streets,  he 
perceived  a  knot  of  men  outside  and  recognized 
them  as  belonging  to  the  employ  he  had  just  left. 
For  a  moment  his  heart  was  in  his  mouth;  he 
imagined  this  to  be  another  hostile  demonstra- 
tion and  he  was  faint  from  hunger  and  had  not 
enough  strength  left  to  fight  a  blind  centenarian. 
From  the  group,  old  Mac  stepped  out,  old  Mac 
who  had  that  morning  offered  him  a  chew  of  plug. 

The  old  man  held  out  a  hand  and  took  Chester's 
in  with  a  grip  that  made  him  wince.  "  Say,  young 
feller,"  he  observed,  "  you're  all  right.  Me  and 
the  boys  want  you  to  have  a  little  supper  on  us. 
We  none  of  us  hadn't  no  use  for  you  at  first,  but 
the  way  you  trimmed  that  unmentionable  Boyle 
was  all  right." 


UNDER  QUEENSBERRY  RULES  233 

The  others  crowded  about  him  and  his  wounded 
hand  burned  from  the  vigor  of  their  grasps.  He 
had  leaped  into  popularity  and  it  was  pleasant  and 
strange  to  him  to  see  that  he  was  regarded  with 
wholly  friendly  feelings.  To  some  underground 
bar  hardby  they  took  him,  and  since  his  swollen 
jaws  made  eating  steak  a  hardship,  they  filled  him 
with  clam  chowder  and  beer.  He  found  that  the 
elimination  of  their  late  foreman  was  indeed  an 
emancipation  for  them.  Many  had  tried  to  down 
him  but  until  now  he  had  always  won.  He  had  for 
some  years  extorted  from  each  man  a  percentage 
of  his  weekly  pay  and  this  day  was  the  first  time 
they  had  ever  been  able  to  keep  the  whole  of 
what  they  had  earned.  Chester  they  hailed  as  a 
deliverer.  There  would  be  time  enough  in  the 
weeks  of  Boyle's  convalescence  to  get  the  ear  of 
the  boss,  and  this  night  was  their  festival  of  de- 
liverance. He  was  not  allowed  to  buy  a  drink 
or  to  expend  a  nickel  of  his  pay  and  he  found  him- 
self escorted  to  his  dwelling  by  a  set  of  men  who, 
although  before  his  forced  inclusion  in  their 
midst  they  would  have  seemed  to  him  coarse  and 
depraved,  he  now  allowed  to  be  good  honest  men 
and  loyal  comrades. 


CHAPTER  XII 

CHESTER    MEETS    HIS    LADY 

"  A  principal  fruit  of  friendship  is  the  ease  and  discharge  of  the 
fulness  and  swellings  of  the  heart."  —  Bacon. 

CHESTER  passed  most  of  Sunday  in  bed 
and  arose  on  the  following  day  easier  in 
body  and  happier  in  the  possession  of 
sufficient  money  to  pay  his  room  rent,  get  his 
overcoat  from  sheltering  avuncular  care  and  look 
about  for  work  again.  But  when  he  was  up,  he 
found  that  he  was  still  weak  and  took  his  way  into 
Central  Park.  He  told  himself  that  he  would 
bask  in  the  companionship  of  squirrels  but  his 
heart  beat  the  faster  as  he  came  to  the  area  in 
which  alone  the  Godfrey  children  were  allowed  to 
play.  It  was  a  mild,  balmy  day  succeeding,  with 
that  sudden  change  for  which  New  York  weather 
is  noted,  one  of  cold  and  gloom. 

The  children  were  there,  bored  from  the  stu- 
pidity of  a  well-meaning  nurse,  and  ran  to  greet 
him  eagerly.    He  could  be  relied  upon  to  tell  them 


CHESTER  MEETS  HIS  LADY    235 

stories  that  were  not  hackneyed  and  Cyril  shared 
with  him  equine  tastes. 

It  was  while  he  was  thus  engaged  —  all  oblivi- 
ous of  squirrels  —  that  Mrs.  Godfrey,  training  a 
powerful  pair  of  binoculars  upon  the  seat  which 
he  had  chosen,  saw  they  were  talking  to  a  strange 
man.  Her  exclamation  brought  Norah  to  her 
side.  She  instantly  knew  it  was  Chester  and  with- 
out saying  anything  to  her  cousin,  dressed  and 
walked  toward  the  group.  She  had  often  wondered 
what  had  happened  to  the  man  who  so  interested 
her  and  felt  genuine  pleasure  at  the  opportunity 
of  meeting  him  again.  As  he  rose  to  his  feet  and 
bowed  over  her  hand,  she  felt  she  was  flushing. 
It  was  annoying  to  find  that  she  could  not  pre- 
serve with  this  man  the  equanimity  which  had 
been  the  despair  of  so  many.  It  had  been  her 
intention  to  admit  having  seen  him  from  the 
window,  but  might  not  such  a  course,  she  argued, 
make  it  appear  that  she  was  too  glad  to  see  him  ? 
What  she  did  say  was,  "  How  surprising  to  find 
you  here!  " 

"  The  beautiful  day  tempted  me,"  he  answered, 
"  and  I  brought  a  bag  of  peanuts  for  the  squirrels." 

She  looked  very  radiant  and  young,  he  thought. 
The  hand  clasp,  which  by  reason  of  his  bruised 


236  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

hands  still  brought  him  discomfort,  gave  him  a 
pang  which  was  more  than  physical  pain;  it  re- 
minded him  of  the  immeasurable  distance  between 
him  and  this  rich  girl  —  between  the  day  manual 
laborer  and  the  heiress.  He  knew  that  such  toil, 
while  it  had  no  power  to  debase  him,  must  place 
him  poles  apart  from  her.  The  squirrels  were 
transparent  inaccuracies,  he  admitted  to  himself. 
He  had  come  to  this  spot,  hoping  to  see  Cyril 
and  hear  of  Cyril's  aunt,  and  now  his  wish  was 
gratified,  he  did  not  know  what  to  say. 

"How  thin  you  are!"  she  exclaimed  impul- 
sively.    "  Have  you  been  ill.''  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  he  responded.  He  supposed  hard 
work  and  one  meal  a  day  must  have  made  a 
difference  in  his  appearance  as  well  as  his  feelings. 

"  I'm  just  going  for  a  stroll,"  she  said.  "  I 
haven't  been  out  all  day.    Will  you  come,  too.^"  " 

"  I'd  be  delighted  to,"  he  said  eagerly.  It 
seemed  a  good  fortune  to  which  he  had  not  dared 
to  look  forward. 

"  I'm  afraid  you  have  been  ill,"  she  said,  when 
they  were  out  of  earshot  of  the  nurse  and  chil- 
dren. She  looked  at  him  closely.  "  And  haven't 
you  been  in  some  accident?  " 

He   laughed.       "  The   children   would   have   it 


CHESTER  MEETS  HIS  LADY    237 

that  I'd  been  thrown  out  of  an  automobile  but 
it  wasn't  anything  of  the  kind.  One  evening,  I 
ran  against  a  hard  substance  and  rather  jarred 
my  face." 

She  walked  on  wondering  what  it  was  that  had 
wrought  such  a  change  in  him.  When  last  she 
remembered  him  he  was  tanned  brown,  was  fuller 
in  the  face  and  without  the  look  and  lines  of 
suffering  she  now  saw.  She  did  not  refer  to  him 
again  until  she  was  within  sight  of  her  house. 

"  I  live  with  my  cousin,"  she  said,  "  Mrs. 
Godfrey,  the  children's  mother.  She  always  pre- 
serves very  kindly  memories  of  you.  Will  you 
lunch  with  us  some  day  soon?  " 

"  That's  awfully  kind  of  you,"  he  said.  "  I'd 
like  to  immensely  but  I'm  afraid  I  can't."  It 
thrilled  him  with  gratitude  that  she  proposed  to 
introduce  him  to  her  family  life;  it  banished  the 
idea  that  her  interest  in  him  was  one  wholly  of 
charity. 

"  Why  not.^  "  she  demanded.  "  Do  you  want 
to  disappoint  me.''  " 

He  looked  her  straight  in  the  eyes.  "  If  you 
know  how  much  more  disappointed  I  am,  you 
wouldn't  think  that." 

"  But,"  she  persisted,  "  why  won't  you.?  " 


238  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  For  the  last  week,"  he  said,  "  I  have  been 
doing  heavy  work  —  trucking  work  —  and  my 
hands  are  blistered  and  the  nails  cracked  and  I 
could  never  allow  them  to  be  seen  at  your  table." 

They  walked  on  in  silence  for  a  hundred  yards 
and  she  looked  at  him  with  a  smile.  "  Then  it 
wasn't  shipwreck,"  she  whispered.  "  You've 
stopped  drifting,  just  as  I  knew  you  would." 

"  Did  you,"  he  said,  eagerly,  "  did  you  really 
think  I  would.?  " 

"  I  was  convinced  of  it,"  she  returned.  "  But, 
Mr.  Vincent,  you  can't  get  out  of  it  as  easily  as 
that." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  If  you  can't  come  to  lunch  or  dinner,  you 
shall  come  to  a  dance  and  wear  white  gloves,  and 
nobody  but  I  will  know  and  I  shall  be  proud  of 
you.    Are  you  going  to  disappoint  me."*  " 

"  I  should  just  love  to  come,"  he  cried, 
"  but  —  " 

She  made  a  little  gesture  of  despair.  "  Really 
you  are  the  most  difficile  person  I  ever  invited. 
But  what.?  " 

"  My  old  world,"  he  said  gravely,  "  I  am  not 
anxious  to  meet  it.  There  may  be  people  who 
knew  me  a  year  ago.    I  want  to  avoid  them," 


CHESTER  MEETS  HIS  LADY    239 

"  I'll  give  you  a  list  at  once,"  she  said,  "  if 
that's  the  only  trouble."  She  repeated  thirty 
names  of  people  unknown  and  then  added  at 
last  Marjery  Rosse  and  Billy  Osmund. 

"  Osmund  is  one  of  them,"  he  said,  "  who 
knew  me.  I  think  meeting  him  would  rather 
unsettle  me." 

"  I'll  drop  him,"  she  returned,  betraying  no 
further  interest  in  the  name.  "  I  shall  invite 
them  for  next  Wednesday  week."  She  hesitated, 
*'  I  expect  my  cousin  will  give  a  dinner  party  be- 
fore the  dance.  Is  it  out  of  the  question  for  you  to 
accept  .f*  " 

He  thought  of  his  hands,  bruised,  cut,  dis- 
figured, unsightly.  It  would  take  a  month  to  get 
them  presentable  again.  "  I  should  prefer  to 
come  in  after  the  dinner,"  he  answered. 

"  We  shall  begin  at  ten,"  she  told  him.  "  It 
won't  be  a  formal  supper  but  one  that  one  can 
take  into  odd  corners  and  eat." 

He  looked  at  her  gratefully.  "  I  sha'n't  have 
to  unmask,  you  mean." 

"  It  will  be  delightful,"  she  cried,  her  eyes 
sparkling;  "  we  have  a  perfect  floor  and  nearly 
all  the  men  dance  well." 

"  May  I  have  the  supper  dance.?  "  he  asked. 


240  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Aren't  you  rather  impatient?  "  she   returned. 

"  Consider  my  disabilities,"  he  cried.  "  The 
men  who  will  be  dining  will  be  certain  to  ask 
you,  and  when  I  come  later,  everything  will  be 
gone." 

"  I  suppose  I'd  better,"  she  smiled.  "  Well, 
I'll  save  the  supper  dance." 

"  I  want  more  than  that,"  he  exclaimed. 
"What  is  one  dance.'*  I  know  perfectly  well 
that  by  ten  there  won't  be  a  blank  line  on  your 
programme." 

"  Not  if  I  save  one  for  you,"  she  said. 

"Will  you?"  he  cried  eagerly.  She  thought 
how  young  he  had  become  in  the  last  hour. 

"  If  I  remember  it,"  she  said.  "  Really,  Mr. 
Vincent,  don't  look  so  distressed.  I'm  not  nearly 
so  much  in  request  as  you  seem  to  think." 

"  Dare  you  to  prove  it  by  leaving  three  dances 
open?  "  he  demanded. 

"  If  you  are  not  a  very  good  dancer,  I  shall 
repent,"  she  said.  "  I'm  most  inconsiderately 
impatient  of  a  clumsy  partner,  however  well 
meaning  he  may  be.  I  will  save  the  dances  under 
the  condition  that  if  you  don't  come  up  to  my 
standard,  you  must  surrender  me  to  a  better 
dancer." 


CHESTER  MEETS  HIS  LADY    241 

"  Done,"  he  cried,  "  I  agree." 

"  Aren't  you  rather  sure  of  yourself? "  she 
asked. 

"  It  sounded  conceited  of  me,  I  admit,"  he 
told  her,  "  but  I've  danced  so  much  that  I  can't 
help  being  as  good  as  the  average." 

"  I  am  anxious  to  see  what  your  average  Is," 
she  returned.  She  looked  at  him  fixedly  for  a 
moment.  "  I  sometimes  wonder  if  I  have  met 
you  before.  Once  or  twice  I  have  thought  there 
was  something  familiar  in  your  voice.  It  might 
have  been  at  a  dance;  if  it  was  I  shall  remember 
on  Wednesday  week.  I  have  a  good  dancing 
memory." 

He  had  always  dreaded  that  she  might  make 
some  such  remark  and  often  wondered  why  she 
had  not.  Surely,  he  sometimes  felt,  she  must  re- 
call that  night  at  the  Beau  Sejour. 

"  If  I  had  ever  danced  with  you,"  he  prevari- 
cated, "  I  should  never  forget." 

He  was  almost  thankful  that  her  nearness  to 
the  Godfrey  house  prevented  further  questioning. 
"  Au  revoir^''  she  said,  holding  out  her  hand.  He 
watched  her  till  the  door  shut  her  from  his  view. 
Then  he  walked  down  the  avenue  no  longer  de- 
pressed, bruised  in  body  and  hopeless  of  the  fu- 


242  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

ture.  She  was  still  his  friend  and  not  ashamed 
of  him. 

Peck  awaited  him,  Peck  of  Cornell,  who  had 
blithely  gone  forth  to  deliver  samples.  He  un- 
folded a  tale  of  woe.  After  two  weeks  of  work, 
he  had  been  paid  off",  and  a  fellow  craftsman 
whose  probity  was  not  what  was  represented 
had  stolen  his  money  and  the  return  ticket  to 
New  York.  Peck  had  beaten  his  way  home 
exhausted. 

Chester,  whose  world  was  now  rosy-hued, 
declined  to  allow  his  friend  to  brood  over  such 
trifles.  It  would  be  added  copy  for  the  auto- 
biography he  must  some  day  write,  and  he 
haled  his  companion  to  the  cheerful  Hungarian 
restaurant  and  brought  him  back  into  a  contented 
frame  of  mind.  And  when  Peck  had  eaten  well, 
and  a  tall  glass  of  red  wine,  all  for  thirty  cents, 
had  accompanied  the  meal,  he  outrivalled  anyone 
Chester  had  ever  met  in  planning  auriferous 
futures.  And  as  they  climbed  up  the  steps  into 
Second  Avenue,  Peck  chortled  gleefully  at  the 
gently  falling  snow. 

"Whence  this  merriment.'*"  his  friend  de- 
manded, who  saw  in  it  only  discomfort.  "  Is 
your  poet's  fancy  charmed.''  " 


CHESTER  MEETS  HIS  LADY    243 

"  Poet's  fancy  be  hanged,"  cried  Peck,  "  I 
see  ten  dollars  each  for  us,  if  this  keeps  on  long 
enough.  It  isn't  so  bad,"  he  added,  "  so  long  as 
we  have  good  stout  shoes.  That  is,  of  course,  if 
you're  game." 

"  Do  you  suppose  a  true  blue  son  of  old  Eli 
is  going  to  back  down  to  any  Cornell  man  who 
ever  swung  a  shovel?"  he  demanded. 

But  it  was  bitter  work,  all  the  same,  yet  noth- 
ing else  offered  itself  and  he  was  not  of  those  who 
could  accept  charity.  Working  on  lower  Broad- 
way, he  saw  Enderby,  fur-coated,  cross  the  street 
before  him.  The  lawyer  did  not  glance  in  his 
direction.  He  was  too  busy  at  the  moment 
thinking  of  his  former  friend,  Richard  Chester,  to 
spare  any  time  to  scan  the  groups  of  snow-shovel- 
lers. 

At  the  end  of  the  week  —  and  the  fall  was  heavy 
for  early  winter  —  Chester  and  Peck  had  earned 
ten  dollars.  Of  this,  some  went  to  placate  a 
foreman;  but  they  were  well  used  by  this  time 
to  petty  graft,  and  protest  was  always  useless. 

When  Wednesday  came.  Peck  watched  with 
some  astonishment  his  companion  laying  out  the 
paraphernalia  of  evening  dress;  he  said  nothing 
for  a  while  as  Chester  selected  gloves  and  tie  with 


244  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

meticulous  care.  At  last  he  blurted  out,  "  Are 
you  going  to  a  wedding?  " 

"  I  am  setting  out  my  funeral  apparel,"  Ches- 
ter said  gravely. 

During  the  long  hours  he  had  worked  in  the 
snow,  he  had  come  to  a  certain  determination 
which  was  to  guide  him  in  his  relations  with 
Norah. 

It  was  imposing  upon  her  good  nature  to  keep 
up  this  strangely  begun  acquaintance  and  it 
was  a  discipline  which  he  was  not  strong  enough 
to  bear,  if  his  vow  to  keep  silence  was  to  be  ob- 
served. 

He  thought  of  her  with  a  feeling  that  was 
compounded  of  love  and  adoration.  When  she 
knew  he  was  the  paid  employe  of  coarse  Alfred 
Congdon,  she  had  not  shrunk  from  him.  And 
when  he  had  told  her  his  hands,  calloused  from 
rough  work,  could  not  be  seen  at  her  table,  she 
had  still  preserved  her  air  of  charming  friend- 
liness and  comprehension.  And  he  was  too  thor- 
oughly a  man  of  the  world  not  to  gauge  accu- 
rately the  sweetness  of  her  nature.  And  with  the 
caution  that  was  being  daily  impressed  upon  him 
he  saw  how,  were  he  an  unscrupulous  man,  she 
had  acted  with  great  unwisdom. 


CHESTER  MEETS  HIS  LADY    245 

It  would  be  better  for  both  of  them  were  he, 
after  the  dance  to  which  he  looked  forward  with 
an  intensity  of  delight,  to  drop  out  of  sight.  If 
he  could  make  good,  and  if  the  mining  man  really 
made  him  a  proposition,  he  would  work  with  all 
the  strenuousness  with  which  he  had  once  played 
and  there  might  be  a  future  too  dazzling  to  think 
of.  But  until  he  heard  from  Norah's  friend,  he 
would  apply  himself  to  brushing  up  his  old  time 
knowledge  and  keep  away  from  her. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  when  Peck  betrayed  astonish- 
ment at  his  answer,  "  I  am  laying  out  my  funeral 
raiment." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

HIS    RESURRECTION 

"  First  say  to  yourself  what  you  would  be,  and  then  do  what 
you  have  to  do.  For  in  almost  everything  else  we  see  this  to  be  the 
practice.  Olympic  champions  first  determine  what  they  would  be 
and  then  act  accordingly.  To  a  racer  in  a  longer  course  there  must 
be  one  kind  of  diet,  walking,  anointing  and  exercise;  to  one  in  a 
shorter  all  these  must  be  different,  and  to  a  pentathlete  still  more 
different."  —  Epictetus. 

TEN  of  the  twenty  couples  invited  to 
Norah's  dance  were  bidden  to  dinner,  and 
among  them,  Renalls  and  Ronald  Mon- 
mouth. Although  by  this  time  the  latter  was  sure 
that  his  cousin  did  not  care  for  him  and  he  was 
himself  under  the  influence  of  a  leading  light  of 
the  musical  comedy  stage,  he  still  delighted  in  pay- 
ing her  attentions  which  annoyed  the  financier.  It 
was  a  sign  of  emasculation,  Renalls  contended, 
this  undue  reverence  to  women,  and  he  secretly 
deplored  the  politeness  which  men  of  a  higher 
social  circle  than  his  own,  were  used  to  assume  to 
their  womenfolk. 

Monmouth  had  asked  for  her  programme  and 


HIS  RESURRECTION  247 

been  refused.  "  Walt  till  we  get  into  the  ball 
room,"  she  laughed. 

"  Were  you  saving  it  as  a  birthday  present 
for  me.^  "  Renalls  demanded  a  little  later  when  he 
secured  a  quiet  moment  with  her. 

"  Is  it  your  birthday.''  "  she  inquired. 

"  Didn't  you  remember  it.'*  "  he  said  almost 
wistfully.    "  I'm  forty  today." 

"  May  you  live  to  be  a  hundred!  "  she  cried. 

"  But  your  programme .''  "  he  protested. 

"  What  is  the  good  of  filling  it  before  the  dance 
commences.^ "  she  said.  "  Of  course  I  shall  dance 
with  Ronald  and  you  but  I'm  not  going  to  allow 
you  or  him  to  take  up  more  than  I  can  spare." 
She  was  not  anxious  for  him  to  see  Chester's 
initials  occupying  so  many  dances. 

"  I'll  take  my  chance  then,"  Renalls  returned, 
unflurried. 

It  was  not  a  large  ball  room  but  it  was  perfect 
in  its  proportions  and  the  decorations  had  been 
entrusted  to  a  florist  who  was  also  a  color  artist. 
At  ten  o'clock  all  the  guests  were  there  except 
Chester  and  another  couple,  and  in  the  minstrels' 
gallery  the  musicians  were  tuning  their  instru- 
ments. She  was  bitterly  disappointed  at  this  de- 
fection but  the  dance  could  not  be  postponed. 


248  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Ronald  Monmouth  was  the  first  to  notice  the 
initials  R.  V.  "  Who  is  R.  V.  ?  "  he  demanded 
with  a  cousin's  privileged  intimacy.  Renalls, 
standing  by  her,  looked  into  her  face  as  the 
question  was  asked. 

She  answered  without  hesitation.  "  A  Mr. 
Vincent,"  she  returned. 

"  Never  heard  of  him,"  her  cousin  declared. 
"  Where  does  he  come  from?  " 

"  I  never  press  my  friends  for  their  antece- 
dents," she  retorted.  "  I  thought  that  was  the 
custom  of  the  nouveaux  richest 

Monmouth  turned  to  the  financier.  "  You'd 
better  look  out,  Renalls;  I  told  you  of  her  liking 
for  mysterious  strangers." 

"  What's  that.?  "  Renalls  demanded. 

"  Ronald's  exaggerations,  merely,"  she  told 
him. 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,"  her  cousin  answered.  "  First 
there  was  the  mysterious  gentleman  with  the  red 
face,  the  husky  voice  and  the  wig.  His  passion 
was  for  flinging  money,  whenever  asked,  for  fool 
charities.  Next  was  the  unknown  disciple  of 
Isaac  Walton  who  passed  his  blameless  life  pad- 
dling about  the  Hudson  in  a  small  boat." 

Renalls  looked  at  the  girl  keenly;  there  was  no 


Renalls  looked  at  the  girl  keenly;   there  was  no  mistaking 
the  flush  on  her  face.     Page  248. 


HIS  RESURRECTION  249 

mistaking  the  flush  on  her  face.  "  Who  was  it?  '* 
he  snapped. 

She  turned  to  Monmouth.  "  Who  told  you  ?  " 
she  inquired. 

"  Cyril  and  'Ginia,"  he  returned.  "  Don't 
blush,  my  dear  child,  I  think  these  mysteries 
are  the  spice  of  life  and  I'm  bent  on  establishing 
your  reputation  for  the  mysterious.  Mr.  Renalls, 
with  that  hard-headed  common  sense  which  marks 
him  out  as  a  leading  representative  of  our  coun- 
try's financial  life,  seems  to  doubt  me.  Perhaps 
he  knows  this  unknown  R.  V.  who  has  absorbed 
so  much  of  your  programme.  I  confess  I 
don't." 

She  looked  at  him  with  heightened  color.  "  I 
must  introduce  you,"  she  said.  Coming  toward 
her,  cool  and  debonair  and  garbed  with  the  quiet 
perfection  which  can  mark  masculine  costume  no 
less  than  that  of  women,  was  Richard  Chester. 
She  smiled  and  held  out  her  hand. 

"  Let  me  introduce  Mr.  Renalls  to  you,"  she 
said,  "  and  my  cousin,  Mr.  Monmouth.  This  is 
Mr.  Vincent." 

The  three  exchanged  formal  suspicious  greet- 
ings. Ronald  had  noticed  that  she  made  the  fine 
distinction  of  introducing  him  and  Renalls  to  this 


250  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

stranger  and  not  the  stranger  to  the  two  leaders 
of  social  life  and  high  finance.  Renalls  was  not 
one  to  notice  this.  There  was  a  look  on  his  face 
which  Monmouth  had  never  seen  before.  For  the 
moment  glaring  jealousy  flamed  up  and  trans- 
formed the  usually  quiet  face  into  a  mask  of  all 
the  passions.  Monmouth  was  alm^ost  startled. 
"Good  God!"  he  muttered,  "That's  the  true 
Renalls,  is  it.?  " 

There  was  another  incident  strangely  disturbing 
to  the  girl  which  happened  almost  at  this  moment. 
She  had  barely  introduced  Chester  to  her  cousin 
and  co-hostess  when  the  other  late  comers  ar- 
rived. The  girl  was  a  dainty,  petite  creature 
named  Marjery  Rosse  and  the  man  was  none 
other  than  the  Billy  Osmund  whose  name  she 
had  excised  from  her  list.  The  man  had  been 
intercepted  by  another  group  of  people  but  the 
girl  pressed  on.  "  Isn't  my  bringing  Billy  a 
surprise.'*  "  she  demanded. 

"  I  asked  Sigurd  Stanton,"  Norah  answered. 

"  No,  darling,"  Marjery  corrected.  "  You 
asked  me  to  bring  my  fiance.  Billy  and  I  only  got 
engaged  last  night.  Mr.  Stanton  and  I  broke  it 
off  the  day  before  yesterday.  Of  course  you  don't 
mind?" 


HIS  RESURRECTION  251 

"  I'm  delighted,"  cried  Norah  with  sinking 
heart.  She  looked  up  at  Chester.  "  I  couldn't 
help  it,"  she  whispered. 

"  I  know,"  he  made  reply.     "  Don't  worry." 

Then  as  Osmund  was  following  in  his  fiancee's 
wake,  Chester  stopped  him. 

"  Billy,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  "  don't  say 
anything  to  me.  We're  not  supposed  to  know 
each  other.  I'll  get  introduced  to  you  directly. 
I'm  a  Mr.  Vincent,  remember." 

Without  a  word  the  other  passed  on.  It  was 
incomprehensible  to  him,  but  Chester  would 
explain  later  and  that  was  enough  for  him. 

Meanwhile  Renalls,  waked  from  his  belief  that 
Norah  cared  for  no  man  and  might  therefore  come 
to  entertain  in  time  a  tenderer  regard  for  him, 
took  careful  stock  of  Chester.  So  far  as  appear- 
ances were  concerned,  he  instantly  conceded  the 
palm  to  the  stranger.  The  new  man  was  better 
looking  than  he,  carried  himself  more  finely  and 
was  incomparably  a  better  dancer.  From  inquiry 
he  could  learn  nothing  about  him.  In  a  room 
where  all  the  guests  knew  one  another  well, 
Vincent  was  the  only  unknown.  Later  in  the 
evening  he  asked  Billy  Osmund,  "  Who  is  that 
man,  I  wonder.''  " 


252  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Osmund  looked  bored  at  the  question.  "  You've 
never  met  him  then?  " 

Osmund  had  detected  the  malice  in  the  other's 
eye.  It  was  well  known  that  the  financier  was 
a  good  hater  and  it  was  not  Osmund's  intention 
to  satisfy  his  curiosity. 

"  Never,"  said  Renalls,  "  I've  never  even  heard 
of  him.  I  can't  think  where  Miss  Ellis  picked 
him  up." 

"  Do  you  usually  criticise  your  hostess's 
friends.^"  he  demanded,  moving  from  the  finan- 
cier's side  to  join  Miss  Rosse. 

Renalls  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  offered  his 
arm  to  Mrs.  Godfrey,  with  whom  he  danced 
laboriously,  keeping  his  eye  the  while  on  Norah 
and  the  stranger.  There  was  a  look  of  animation 
on  her  face  which  he  had  never  been  able  to  evoke 
even  in  the  days  when  she  admired  his  abilities 
as  a  financial  fighter. 

Mrs.  Godfrey,  who  waltzed  very  well  and  was 
a  pretty  woman  in  her  plump,  opulent  style,  was 
plainly  piqued  at  his  inattention. 

"  I  sha'n't  dance  with  you  any  more,"  she  de- 
clared. 

"  Why  not.?  "  he  demanded  bluntly.  "  Have 
I  trod  on  your  toes  or  torn  your  train?  " 


HIS  RESURRECTION  253 

"  You're  looking  at  everyone  but  me,"  she 
pouted. 

"  I'm  trying  to  place  that  man  dancing  with 
Norah,"  he  said  craftily.  "  Where  did  she  meet 
him.?" 

"  I  can't  remember,"  she  said.  "  At  some  dance 
or  another,  I  suppose.  No,"  she  added,  "  I've 
never  met  him  before.  He's  Norah's  friend,  not 
mine."  She  had  not  been  told  yet  that  this  was 
the  rescuer  of  her  children.  She  went  off  at  a 
tangent.  "  Norah  does  the  queerest  things;  she 
arranged  this  dance  without  consulting  me  at 
all  and  everybody  accepted."  She  sighed  envi- 
ously. "  They  had  to  break  other  engagements 
but  they  always  do  for  her." 

He  looked  at  Norah  critically.  "  You  must 
admit  that  she  is  lovely,"  he  said. 

"  Of  her  type,  yes,"  Mrs.  Godfrey  admitted. 
She  preferred  that  woman  should  have  a  majestic 
presence  and  weigh  more  than  the  tables  on  weigh- 
ing machines  allow.  Lack  of  exercise  and  a  pleas- 
ure in  eating  had  robbed  her  neck  and  chin  of 
all  lines  of  beauty  and  she  was  not  pleased  with 
her  escort;  it  was  a  moment,  too,  when  she  felt 
she  detested  her  cousin.  She  was  rendered  still 
more  impatient  by  the  fact  that  Renalls  ignored 


254  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

her  remarks,  gazing  instead  at  the  couple  who 
interested  him. 

"  It  would  be  just  like  Norah,"  she  said  spite- 
fully, "  to  marry  at  a  moment's  notice  a  man  of 
whom  one  had  never  heard." 

"  She  would  if  she  wanted  to,"  he  agreed. 

Chester  had  never  anticipated  a  waltz  so  much 
as  the  first  Norah  gave  him  and  never  realized 
his  anticipations  so  thoroughly.  She  danced  per- 
fectly and  took  him  out  of  himself  into  a  new 
world.  When  it  was  over,  he  asked,  "  Am  I  to 
have  the  other  two  .'*  " 

"  You've  passed  your  examination,"  she 
laughed.    "  You  may." 

When  they  were  sitting  out,  she  thought  again 
of  Osmund.  "  I'm  very  sorry  that  Mr.  Osmund 
came,"  she  said. 

"  It's  all  right,"  he  assured  her.  "  He  is  my 
friend.  I  am  really  grateful  now  that  I've  seen 
him." 

*'  I'm  so  much  relieved,"  she  cried.  "  I  was 
afraid  it  might  be  some  disagreeable  reminder." 

"  Dear  old  Billy  could  never  be  disagreeable,". 
he  said.  "  We  were  at  school  together  and  I'd 
trust  him  with  my  life.  I  look  forward  to  being 
introduced  to  him  again." 


HIS  RESURRECTION  255 

"  I  shall  be  happy  to  present  you,"  she 
said. 

She  felt  strangely  light  and  care-free  tonight. 
The  man  for  whom  she  felt  a  warm  friendship, 
that  was  not  unmixed  with  admiration,  was  not 
in  his  proper  sphere.  Only  she  knew  that  under 
the  white  gloves  were  the  honorable  scars  of  toil. 
Never  for  a  moment  had  she  been  in  doubt  as  to 
the  outcome  of  this  experiment.  In  this  magnifi- 
cent room  thronged  with  men  and  women  bearing 
proud  names  in  American  society,  Chester  moved 
as  by  right  and  she  found  herself  wondering  what 
it  was  which  brought  him  down.  The  weakness 
she  most  dreaded  to  learn  of,  was  that  evil  of 
drink  which  is  so  marked  in  rich,  idle  young  men 
today.  She  had  seen  too  many  bright  futures 
wrecked  by  it. 

There  was  a  room  leading  from  the  great  apart- 
ment, sacred  to  men  and  fitted  with  every  sort 
of  liquid  refreshment  and  smoking  material.  He 
would  presently  drift  in  there,  she  supposed,  as 
the  other  men  did  and  have  free  access  to  what 
might  possibly  have  been  the  cause  of  his  down- 
fall. It  was  a  kind  of  test  which  she  dreaded  but 
yet  wished  him  to  undergo.  There  were  even  now 
among  her  guests  men  whom  she  had  known  as 


256  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

nice-mannered,  clean-minded  boys  who  now  never 
came  to  a  dance  innocent  of  spirituous  breath. 
She  did  not  like  them  but  they  were  the  men  she 
best  knew,  and  immoderate  drinking  was  not 
solely  a  failing  of  the  wealthy.  It  was  a  peculiarity 
of  her  nature  that  she  liked  to  test  herself,  her 
friends  and  her  possessions.  If  she  bought  a 
hunter,  she  put  him  at  higher  obstacles  than  she 
would  encounter  in  the  hunting  field.  Of  her 
friends  she  expected  the  loyalty  she  gave  them  and 
her  many  disappointments  in  horses  and  men  and 
women  had  not  made  her  cynical  or  bitter.  She 
had  endowed  Chester  with  certain  attributes 
which  he  might  or  might  not  possess.  He  had  not 
lied  when  he  admitted  he  belonged  to  a  rich  set  in  a 
world  where  work  was  not  known.  His  friend- 
ship with  Osmund  was  proof  of  that.  Osmund 
moved  in  a  set  that  was  not  the  one  affected  by 
the  Godfreys.  Whereas  Mrs.  Godfrey,  widow  of 
a  bank  president,  knew  for  the  most  part  those 
actively  engaged  in  banking  and  allied  pursuits, 
Osmund  was  of  the  Long  Island  hunting  set  whose 
money  was  made  for  them  by  long  deceased  re- 
lations. It  was  that  set  in  America  which  does 
not  encourage  new  members.  It  was  but  rarely 
Osmund  had  been  in  the  Godfrey  house. 


HIS  RESURRECTION  257 

When  the  waltz  was  finished,  Chester  looked 
at  her  programme.  "  You've  only  given  me  one 
dance  for  the  supper,"  he  complained.  "  It's 
always  two  at  least.  One  shouldn't  hurry  even 
over  an  informal  supper." 

"  You  should  have  been  earlier,"  she  returned. 
"  You  were  fifteen  minutes  late  and  I  gave  the 
dance  to  Mr.  Fenwick." 

"  Which  is  Mr.  Fenwick.?  "  he  asked. 

She  pointed  out  a  vacuous  looking  youth  who 
was  talking  to  Osmund.  "  Excuse  me  for  one 
moment,"  said  Chester,  leaving  her.  She  watched 
his  progress  with  interest.  He  bowed  slightly  to 
Fenwick  and  entered  into  animated  converse 
with  him.  A  look  of  indignation  crossed  Mr. 
Fenwick's  face  which  was  followed  by  one  of  un- 
easiness. Then  it  appeared  he  fell  in  with  Ches- 
ter's views  and  the  two  smiled  pleasantly  as 
they  parted. 

"What  on  earth  was  all  that  about.''"  she 
demanded  as  he  resumed  his  seat. 

"  That  Mr.  Fenwick,  who  has  intelligence  de- 
spite appearances,  agrees  with  me  that  one  cannot 
snatch  a  too-hasty  refection  and  be  happy.  He 
was  promised  in  your  name  the  second  extra 
instead." 


258  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Your  audacity  astounds  me!  "  she  cried, 
laughing.    "  Why  not  the  first  extra?  " 

He  took  her  programme  and  pencilled  his 
initials  against  the  first  extra.  "  That  is  taken," 
he  said. 

"  Do  you  know  you're  a  very  unscrupulous 
person,  Mr.  Vincent.'*  "  she  exclaimed.  "  How 
do  you  know  I  wasn't  living  for  that  dance  with 
him.?" 

*'  Let  the  second  extra  sustain  you,"  he  retorted. 

"  This  is  all  very  frivolous,"  she  said.  "  I 
depended  on  you  to  store  my  mind  with  useful 
facts.  You  haven't  yet  offered  an  excuse  for 
being  late." 

"  I  hope  you  won't  insist,"  he  said  more  gravely. 
"  Believe  me,  it  was  absolutely  unavoidable." 

"  Well,  it  doesn't  really  matter,"  she  told  him, 
"  you  came  in  time,  after  all,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"  It  does  matter,"  he  insisted.  "  It  matters 
very  much.  To  come  to  a  dance  that  one  has 
looked  forward  to,  as  one  never  did  to  another, 
late,  is  inexcusable  in  a  man." 

And  yet  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  tell  her 
the  true  reason.  As  he  was  shaving  in  his  ill 
lighted  room  just  before  dressing,  he  had  knocked 
over  the  mirror  and  broken  it.     The  landlady. 


HIS  RESURRECTION  259 

scenting  loss  and  not  sure  as  to  the  financial 
status  of  the  pair,  demanded  to  know  the  reason 
of  the  smash;  and  like  all  articles  broken  in  board- 
ing houses  or  furnished  rooms,  it  was  an  heirloom 
and  she  would  not  have  had  it  happen  for  fifty 
dollars.  She  Insisted  on  immediate  recompense. 
Peck  was  out,  and  with  only  a  dollar  between  him 
and  starvation,  Chester  was  in  despair.  Joined 
by  her  husband,  the  landlady  became  virulent 
and  derided  the  idea  of  a  man  dressed  in  evening 
clothes  not  being  able  to  produce  a  five-dollar 
bill.  He  pacified  her  finally  by  a  promise  of  pay- 
ment on  the  morrow,  but  twenty  minutes  had 
been  dissipated  by  this  miserable  affair.  He 
designed  his  evening  clothes  for  pawnbroking 
adventures.  He  felt  he  could  not  tell  the  girl  at 
his  side  the  miserable  squalid  truth. 

"  I'm  not  anxious  to  know,"  she  declared. 
"  I  am  sure  it  was  something  that  was  unex- 
pected." 

He  looked  at  her  gratefully.    "  It  was,"  he  said. 

"  Now,"  she  cried  gaily  a  minute  later,  "  you 
must  dance  with  my  cousin,  Alice  Godfrey.  I 
hope  you'll  like  her.  We  get  along  famously; 
she  never  believes  in  what  I  do,  and  I  never  take 
any  notice  of  what  she  says." 


260  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Mrs.  Godfrey  was  disposed  to  like  Chester. 
He  listened  most  intently  to  her  views  on  Ibsen  — 
he  had  read  the  article,  too,  which  had  inspired 
them  —  and  found  no  fault  with  her  conception 
of  modern  art  as  set  forth  in  the  galleries  and 
exhibitions.  She  felt  she  was  firmly  established 
in  his  mind  as  an  intellectual  and  started,  when 
this  end  was  attained,  to  speak  of  less  fatiguing 
matters. 

"Do  you  know  Charles  Renalls.^"  she  de- 
manded. 

"  By  name  only,"  he  answered.  "  I  was  intro- 
duced to  him  but  I  doubt  if  that's  knowing  him." 

"  He's  dancing  with  the  girl  in  black  over  there," 
she  said. 

Chester  glanced  at  him.  "  He  seems  to  have  a 
most  offensive  stare,"  he  said. 

"  It's  his  way,"  she  returned.  "  Lots  of  men 
don't  Hke  him." 

"  I  think  I  could  easily  be  of  their  number," 
said  Chester.  There  could  be  no  doubt  but  that 
the  financier  was  regarding  him  unpleasantly. 

*'  This  dance  was  really  arranged  up  for  him," 
the  other  declared.  She  was  convinced  that 
Norah  would  eventually  marry  him.  *  She'll 
marry  him  sometime  or  another;  he's  the  sort  of 


HIS  RESURRECTION  261 

man  who  always  gets  what  he  wants;  those  cold, 
patient  men  always  do,  I  think." 

She  prattled  on  happily,  not  noticing  that  her 
partner  had  suddenly  become  very  quiet. 

"  Are  they  actually  engaged  ?  "  he  asked,  pres- 
ently. 

"  Hardly  that,"  she  admitted,  "  one  might  call 
it  an  understanding  rather." 

"  Do  you  welcome  the  prospect?  "  he  demanded. 

"  It  would  be  a  splendid  match,"  she  said. 

He  raged  inwardly  at  the  unexpected  tidings. 
From  what  he  had  heard  Norah  say  and  from 
what  he  knew  of  her  circumstances,  he  supposed 
her  to  be  indifferent  to  men.  But  here  was  the 
cousin  with  whom  she  lived  admitting  that  the 
dance  was  arranged  for  this  glowering  brute  who 
tried  to  stare  him  out  of  countenance.  But  de- 
spite this  rush  of  bitterness,  he  did  not  in  any  way 
blame  the  girl.  She  had  been  kind  to  him  when 
he  needed  kindness;  she  had  been  a  friend  when  he 
was  friendless,  and  that  was  all.  He  thought  of 
the  phrase  with  which  he  had  described  his  eve- 
ning clothes  to  Peck.  They  would  indeed  be 
funeral  garments,  marking  the  day  of  final  banish- 
ment from  the  woman  he  loved.  Suppose  Renalls 
were  to  resolve  himself  into  the  mining  man.    His 


262  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

enormous  South  American  interests  were  well 
known  and  not  inconceivably  she  might  wish  to 
obtain  the  help  of  her  future  husband  for  the  man 
who  was  only  a  friend.  If  this  proved  to  be  true, 
then  good-bye  to  mining,  he  thought.  He  knew 
certainly  that  Renalls  hated  him  and  would  not 
help,  and  he  swore  that  nothing  should  make  him 
accept  aid  from  her  husband.  He  glanced  at 
Renalls  with  intensified  interest  as  the  dancing 
brought  them  together,  and  Renalls  saw,  flaring 
back  at  him,  the  hatred  which  was  never  to  be 
stilled. 

*'  Who  is  that  man,  Vincent.? "  Renalls  asked 
of  Norah. 

"  A  friend  of  mine,"  she  answered,  detecting  the 
covert  bitterness  in  his  voice,  "  who  never  per- 
mits himself  to  ask  impertinent  questions." 

"  Is  it  impertinent  to  ask  that.^*  "  he  cried. 

"  Your  tone  was  unpleasant,"  she  said  severely. 
"  It  implied  a  certain  criticism  of  a  fellow  guest 
which  I,  as  a  hostess,  don't  like." 

"  I  don't  think  you  are  behaving  fairly,"  he 
objected.  "  It  is  a  perfectly  ordinary  question 
that  I've  often  asked  you  concerning  other  people. 
I  know  nearly  all  your  friends  and  I'm  naturally 
interested  when  Monmouth  tells  me  you  are  in 


HIS  RESURRECTION  263 

the  habit  of  meeting  mysterious  men,  and  then  out 
of  nowhere  this  Mr.  Vincent  pops  up  and  takes 
half  your  dances." 

"  You'll  admit  he  dances  rather  well,"  she  said 
calmly. 

"  Good  Heavens!  "  he  cried.  "  Is  that  so  much 
to  boast  of?  Why,  I  can  pick  up  three  dancing 
masters  In  as  many  blocks  who  could  give  him 
cards  and  spades  and  a  beating."  She  noticed  for 
the  first  time  this  evening  the  ring  of  jealousy  in 
his  tones.  She  wondered,  a  little  uneasily,  if  her 
manner  had  denoted  any  visible  preference  for 
the  man  whom  he  adjudged  to  be  his  rival.  But 
she  was  angry  with  Renalls  for  his  evident 
malice. 

"  And  his  skill,"  she  continued,  ignoring  the 
interruption,  "  at  catching  tomcod  and  crabs  is 
abnormal." 

"  You're  making  fun  of  me,"  the  financier 
said,  sulkily. 

"  Don't  spoil  a  whole  delightful  evening  by 
quarrelling,  then,"  she  urged.  "  Mr.  Vincent, 
whom  I  have  known  for  a  long  time,  is  a  perfectly 
well  behaved  young  man  and  known  to  friends 
of  mine,  too." 

"  Which  ones  ?  "  he  asked,  quickly. 


264  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

She  answered  without  thinking,  "  Mr.  Osmund." 

"  I  think  you'd  better  guess  again,"  he  said. 
"  I  asked  Mr.  Osmund  a  few  minutes  ago  and  he 
said  he  didn't  know  him." 

She  was  silent  for  a  moment,  angry  at  being 
betrayed  into  this  admission. 

"  Mr.  Osmund  doesn't  like  you,"  she  returned, 
"  and  your  blunt  rough  way  of  cross-questioning 
isn't  popular.  He  probably  told  you  what  he 
did  In  answer  to  some  offensive  question.  You 
know,  Charlie,  your  manners  may  mark  you  as  a 
great  man  when  your  biography  comes  to  be 
written,  but  while  you  are  alive,  they  rather 
stamp  you  as  a  boor." 

"  I'm  much  obliged,"  he  returned.  She  had 
given  him  material  for  thought.  It  was  true  that 
Osmund  disliked  him  and  would  be  ready  to  snub 
him  if  occasion  offered.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  girl  was  wrong,  what  was  her  reason  for  making 
the  evasion.^  She  was  impatient,  as  he  knew,  of 
petty  lies  and  could  only  have  stooped  to  one  for 
some  very  special  motive.  The  idea  that  she  was 
so  friendly  with  the  man  Vincent  was  disturbing. 

"  I  don't  care  a  whole  lot  what  Osmund  thinks 
of  me,"  he  said  at  length.  "  He's  one  of  those 
useless  young  men  who  couldn't  earn  five  dollars 


HIS  RESURRECTION  265 

a  week.  If  his  grandfather  hadn't  bought  a  coun- 
try house  round  about  where  Times  Square  now 
stands,  Master  William  wouldn't  be  where  he  is 
today." 

"  But  his  grandfather  did,"  she  reminded  him, 
"  and  mine  did  very  much  the  same  thing  a  few 
blocks  north." 

"  I'm  my  own  grandfather,"  he  said  grimly, 
"  and  as  for  respecting  the  memories  of  those  old 
fools  who  founded  the  big  families,  I'd  like  to  dig 
up  their  bones  and  have  them  thrown  into  the 
East  River." 

"  The  music  is  stopping,"  she  said.  "  I'm  very 
glad.  In  this  vindictive  mood,  you're  not  an  ideal 
partner." 

A  little  later  in  the  evening,  Osmund,  at  a  nod 
from  Chester,  followed  him  into  the  room  set 
apart  for  masculine  comfort.  To  their  chagrin, 
Renalls  was  lighting  a  cigar.  He  had  recovered  his 
balance  and  nodded  to  Osmund  with  a  show  of 
amiability  and  then  glanced  more  keenly  at  the 
man  he  knew  as  Vincent,  who  was  mixing  him- 
self a  whiskey  and  seltzer.  Osmund,  seeing  pri- 
vate conversation  impossible,  sauntered  out. 

"  You're  a  new  friend  of  Miss  Ellis  ?  "  Renalls 
asked  with  an  appearance  of  friendly  interest. 


266  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Hardly  that,"  was  Vincent's  unsatisfying 
rejoinder. 

"  I  thought  I  knew  all  her  old  friends,"  said 
Renalls.  "  In  fact  I  may  say  that  I  do  know  all 
her  old  friends." 

"  That  must  give  you  singular  pleasure," 
returned  Chester,  lazily  puffing  at  a  delightful 
cigarette,  the  like  of  which  he  had  not  smoked 
for  many  moons.  "  But  it  must  be  boring,  too, 
at  times." 

"Not  a  bit,"  Renalls  declared,  "Miss  Ellis' 
friends  are  mine,  too." 

Chester  blew  a  ring  of  smoke  into  the  air. 
"  Friendship  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  hobby  with  you, 
then.^  "  he  inquired,  blandly. 

Renalls  made  him  no  answer.  It  was  difficult 
to  keep  the  dislike  he  felt  from  showing.  "  I 
suggest  there  are  exceptions,"  Chester  added. 

"  They  don't  count,"  Renalls  snapped. 

Chester  turned  to  him  the  same  pleasant  coun- 
tenance which  he  had  shown.  "  Have  you  any 
particular  purpose  in  starting  this  conversation 
with  me.'' " 

Renalls'  face  took  a  redder  hue.  "  Politeness," 
he  said  with  an  effort,  "  demands  a  certain  cour- 
tesy between  fellow  guests." 


HIS  RESURRECTION  267 

"  I  see,"  returned  Chester,  musing.  "  And 
this  is  your  particular  idea  as  to  courtesy  —  this 
attempt  to  question  me  about  the  length  of  time 
I  have  known  Miss  Ellis!  Oddly  enough,  I  en- 
tertain absolutely  different  views  of  courtesy. 
You  may  have  noticed  that  I  asked  no  confidences 
of  you." 

"  I  did  not  intend  to  ask  any  questions  which 
could  offend,"  Renalls  said  stiffly,  "  but  my 
friendship  with  Miss  Ellis  is  so  intimate  that  any 
such  curiosity  is  pardonable." 

"  When  I  learn  this  from  Miss  Ellis,"  Chester 
said,  "  I  shall  be  happy  to  draw  up  for  your  edifi- 
cation a  list  of  all  the  places  where  I've  had  the 
good  fortune  to  meet  her." 

Renalls  felt  he  had  met  defeat.  This  imper- 
turbable young  man  gave  him  no  opportunities  for 
learning  what  he  was  absolutely  determined  to 
know.  There  was  an  air  of  fashion  about  him 
not  to  be  denied.  His  evening  dress  was  in  cor- 
rect style  and  spoke  of  affluence.  True,  he  wore 
no  jewelry;  but  Renalls  had  found  that  a  display 
of  precious  stones  was  not  characteristic  of  the 
young  men  of  the  smart  set.  He  decided  upon 
an  engaging  air  of  candor. 

"  I'm  afraid,"  he  said,  "  that  what  seemed  to 


268  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

me  only  the  pleasantries  of  ordinary  conversa- 
tion are  offensive  to  you." 

His  manner  disarmed  the  other.  He  feared  that 
he  had  been  rude  to  a  man  whom  Norah  regarded 
with  warm  feelings.  Perhaps  jealousy  had  be- 
trayed him  into  exhibiting  a  side  which  would 
pain  the  girl,  were  she  to  learn  of  it. 

"  I'm  sorry  to  have  given  you  that  idea,"  he 
returned  politely.  More  than  this  admission  he 
did  not  feel  called  upon  to  make.  He  glanced  at 
the  clock  and  rose  to  his  feet.  "  I  must  find  my 
partner,"  he  said. 

At  the  door  a  young  man  whom  he  did  not  re- 
member to  have  seen  previously  stopped  him. 
"  Can  you  tell  me  if  Charles  F.  Renalls  is  here.''  " 

"  In  that  room,"  said  Chester,  indicating  the 
apartment  he  had  just  left. 

The  young  man  thanked  him  and  then  stared 
quickly  at  the  other  until  he  had  passed  from 
sight. 

Renalls  looked  up  to  see  yet  another  stranger. 
"  Mr.  Charles  F.  Renalls?  "  the  new  man  asked. 

"  Well,"  said  the  financier,  gruffly,  "  what 
about  it? " 

It  was  plain  that  the  young  man  was  a  little 
nervous.     "  I  have  been  sent/'  he  commenced, 


HIS  RESURRECTION  269 

"  by  the  Daily  Sphere  to  find  out  whether  the 
report  as  to  the  consoHdation  of  the  Agricultural 
Bank  with  the  Manufacturers'  Trust  Company 
is  true.  There's  a  rumor  that  they've  amalga- 
mated and  made  you  president." 

"  There  is,  is  there.?  "  sneered  Renalls. 

"  I  want  the  story,"  the  young  man  admitted 
ingenuously. 

"  You  aren't  alone  in  your  glory,  then,"  Renalls 
snapped.  "  You  newspaper  men  are  a  damned 
nuisance,  anyway,  and  I've  had  ten  of  them  this 
very  day  cooling  their  heels  in  my  outer  office 
waiting  for  the  story  you  want.  They  are  there 
still,  for  all  I  know  or  care." 

"  It  is  true,  then?  "  the  other  asked,  eagerly. 

Renalls  favored  him  with  a  long,  insolent  stare. 
He  noted  the  ill  fitting  dinner  coat,  the  incor- 
rectly cut  white  waistcoat  and  the  ready  made 
white  tie.  Here,  at  least,  was  no  invited  guest. 
He  was  used  to  baiting  the  reporters,  whom  as 
a  class  he  detested,  and  he  could  see  to  what  cate- 
gory this  man  belonged.  He  was  probably  a 
brainy,  eager  young  reporter,  star  of  his  local 
paper,  in  his  native  State,  who  had  come  to  New 
York  to  make  his  name.  He  had  been  possibly 
one  of  the  anxious  ten  waiting  in  the  outer  office 


270  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

that  morning  and  alone  of  them  had  learned  of 
his  destination  and  tracked  him  to  it.  Why  the 
servants  had  admitted  him  would  be  learned  later 
on.  At  last  Renalls'  black  rage  had  found  some- 
thing upon  which  to  vent  itself. 

"  I  know  your  sort,"  he  sneered.  "  You're 
some  cub  reporter  sent  to  make  good  where  the 
others  have  failed.  I  suppose  they  promised 
you  a  job  on  the  staff  if  you  took  back  the  story 
or  what  looked  to  be  the  genuine  goods.  If  not, 
it's  to  be  back  to  Pishtush  in  the  Swamp  for 
keeps,  eh.^  " 

"  See  here,  Mr.  Renalls,"  urged  the  young  man, 
"  I  don't  want  to  put  myself  in  the  wrong  with 
you.  I've  just  got  to  try  to  get  my  story  some  way 
but  I'd  rather  have  got  it  from  you  in  your  office 
than  come  in  here  like  this." 

Renalls  looked  at  his  clothes  with  a  nasty 
smile. 

"  How  much  for  the  night.'*  "  he  demanded. 

The  reporter  colored  and  answered,  not  without 
a  certain  dignity,  "  I  did  hire  them,"  he  admitted, 
"  and  it  was  money  I  could  ill  afford,  but  I  don't 
know  that  it's  in  good  taste  for  a  millionaire  like 
you  to  remind  me  of  it." 

"  Don't  talk  about  good  taste  to  me,"  Renalls 


HIS  RESURRECTION  271 

roared  at  him.  "  What  sort  of  taste  do  you  call 
it  to  sneak  into  a  lady's  house  to  a  dance  you 
weren't  asked  to,  disguised  as  a  gentleman,  just 
to  get  a  story  for  the  Daily  Sneer?  " 

"  We've  always  treated  you  well,  Mr.  Renalls," 
the  young  man  assured  him  with  the  strange 
loyalty  of  the  average  newspaper  man  to  his 
journal.  "  I  only  want  a  few  particulars  about 
your  amalgamation  —  " 

Renalls  interrupted  him.  "  It's  your  amalga- 
mation," he  reminded  him. 

"  It's  a  matter  of  vital  public  interest,"  the 
young  man  urged,  "  and  with  the  public  in  this 
nervous,  panicky  state,  may  reassure  thousands 
of  investors." 

Renalls  shook  his  head.  "  Your  city  editor's 
drawn  a  blank  with  you,"  he  observed.  "  I  guess 
it's  back  to  Pishtush  in  the  Swamp  for  yours." 

The  journalist  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  in 
silence.  He  saw,  plainly,  that  he  could  get  noth- 
ing from  the  surly  financier.  He  realized  that  this 
much-deserved  opportunity  to  make  good  and 
gain  the  staff  was  lost. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said,  "  I'll  go." 

"  I  think  you'll  need  help,"  Renalls  said  with 
a  grin.    "  If  I  say  the  word,  there's  a  couple  of 


272  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

husky  footmen  who  will  boot  you  out  on  to  the 
sidewalk  in  jig  time." 

"  You  wouldn't  dare  do  that  to  a  newspaper 
man,"  cried  the  other. 

"  You're  not  a  newspaper  man,"  said  Renalls. 
"  You're  an  impostor  disguised  as  a  gentleman 
who  for  all  I  know  sneaked  in  here  to  go  through 
the  guests'  pockets." 

"  I'm  as  good  as  anyone  here,"  cried  the  other, 
now  thoroughly  aroused,  "  and  a  great  deal 
better  than  most.  Why,  the  very  man  who  told 
me  where  you  were,  isn't  what  he  seems." 

He  wondered  at  the  financier's  suddenly  changed 
attitude.    "  Which  one.?  "  he  demanded,  eagerly. 

"  A  tall,  dark-haired  young  man,  clean  shaven, 
with  aquiline  features." 

This  was  too  indefinite  for  a  practical  man  like 
the  capitalist.  He  rose  to  his  feet.  "  Point  him 
out  to  me,"  he  said. 

Chester  was  dancing  with  Marjery  Rosse  and 
did  not  see  the  smile  of  contentment  that  irradi- 
ated the  face  of  his  rival. 

The  reporter  found  himself  dragged  back  into 
the  little  room  and  offered  a  drink  and  a  superb 
cigar.  He  was  conscious  of  Renalls'  powerful 
face  gazing  at  him  with  a  friendliness  that  was 


HIS  RESURRECTION  273 

amazing.  "  What  on  earth,"  muttered  the  young 
reporter  to  himself,  "  has  happened?  " 

"  You  are  probably  mistaken,"  Renalls  as- 
serted. 

"  Never,"  declared  the  other,  "  it's  part  of 
my  trade  to  remember  faces.  I  last  saw  that  man 
a  few  weeks  ago  in  a  police  court  charged  with 
beating  a  big  hotel  out  of  a  swell  feed."  In  sup- 
port of  his  story  he  gave  the  hotel's  name  and  other 
details  which  Renalls  stored  mentally.  He  could 
see  this  interested  the  big  man  and  he  plunged 
into  the  story  with  what  he  felt  sure  was  the  best 
Sun  manner.  He  was  young,  and  it  gave  him,  in- 
cidentally, the  opportunity  to  air  his  profound 
knowledge  of  the  world. 

Renalls  was  not  ungrateful  for  this  lucky 
happening,  "  Now,"  he  said,  "  get  out  that  note- 
book and  take  down  the  names  of  the  officers  of 
the  new  corporation  and  some  particulars  about  it.'* 

When  the  reporter  had  gone,  with  all  the  honors 
of  war,  Renalls,  happier  than  an  hour  ago  he 
would  have  believed  possible,  strolled  back  into 
the  ball  room.  He  was  in  time  to  see  Marjery 
Rosse  introduce  her  partner  to  her  fiance.  A 
minute  after  the  two  men  made  for  the  little  room 
he  had  quitted. 


274  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Osmund  wrung  his  friend's  hand  joyfully. 
"  My  dear  old  boy,"  he  cried,  "  what  in  Heaven's 
name  is  the  meaning  of  this  mystery?  We  all 
thought  you  had  disappeared  for  good." 

"  I  have,"  said  Chester.  "  This  is  positively 
my  last  resurrection." 

"  I  won't  believe  it,"  Osmund  ejaculated. 

"  But  you  must,  Billy,"  Chester  told  him  seri- 
ously. "  I'm  no  longer  in  the  world  that  was  ours 
and  is  still  yours.  I  lost  all  right  to  it,  and  after 
tonight,  I  get  back  into  a  world  you  wot  not 
of." 

"  There's  damned  little  comfort  in  hearing 
that!  "  Osmund  rejoined. 

"  It's  got  to  be,"  Chester  said.  He  was  de- 
pressed by  the  knowledge  that  Renalls  was  so 
much  to  the  girl  as  to  have  the  right  to  examine 
him  on  the  length  of  their  friendship.  His  store 
of  cheerfulness  was  suddenly  scattered.  The  fu- 
ture, which  had  always  before  offered  him  a  fight- 
ing hope,  seemed  hardly  of  interest. 

"  Yes,  it's  got  to  be,"  he  repeated  wearily. 
"  I  played  the  fool  all  round,  Billy.  I  had  a 
fortune  which  I  blew  in  after  the  approved 
fashion  and  I've  got  to  suffer  for  it.  Some  day,  if 
I've  made  reparation,  I'll  come  back." 


HIS  RESURRECTION  275 

"  You  talk  as  though  you'd  been  a  criminal," 
Osmund  objected.  "  What  are  you  accusing  your- 
self of?  Have  you  wasted  your  wife's  money  on 
other  women  like  Kerrison,  or  drunk  your  chil- 
dren's fortune  like  Reed?  Did  you  ever  cheat  at 
cards  or  hit  a  man  when  he  was  down?  None  of 
us  ever  saw  you  do  it." 

Chester  looked  at  him  more  cheerfully.  "  Billy," 
he  said,  "  it's  good  to  hear  you  say  that,  although 
you're  kinder  to  me  than  I  deserve.  But  all  the 
same  I  acted  the  absolute  ass  and  it  was  time  I 
was  stopped." 

"  Then  we  cleaned  you  out  that  day?  "  Osmund 
demanded. 

Chester  nodded.  "  You  were  the  instruments 
of  fate,"  he  said.  "  I  was  swept  out  of  existence, 
horse,  foot  and  artillery." 

"  Dick,"  cried  the  other.  "  It  makes  me  feel 
awfully  bad  to  hear  that.  Why  didn't  you  come 
to  me  and  ask  for  anything  you  wanted?  You've 
been  mighty  good  to  me,  old  man,  and  now  it's 
a  bit  of  a  shock  to  find  you  didn't  feel  friendly 
enough  to  me  to  come  and  say  you  wanted  money. 
Haven't  I  enough?  Haven't  I  a  damned  sight 
too  much  ?  " 

Chester  put  his  hands  on  the  other's  shoulders. 


276  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Billy,"  he  said,  "  you  mustn't  feel  like  that. 
Others  offered  me  money  but  I  wouldn't  take  it. 
Money  wouldn't  help  me." 

"  What  are  you  doing  now.? "  Osmund  de- 
manded. 

"  Working,"  Chester  said,  "  and  my  prospects 
are  splendid." 

"  You  look  prosperous  enough,"  Osmund  ad- 
mitted. "  But  you're  trained  a  bit  on  the  fine 
side." 

"  I  used  to  ride  ten  pounds  too  heavy,"  Chester 
remarked  with  conviction. 

The  preliminary  tuning  of  Instruments  brought 
both  men  to  their  feet. 

"  When  you  want  me  or  money  or  both,"  said 
Osmund,  "  you  know  where  to  find  me.  If  you 
ask  anyone  else  instead  of  me,  you'll  hurt  me, 
Dick." 

Chester  gripped  his  hand,  "  I  won't  forget,"  he 
said. 

Osmund  had  perfect  faith  in  his  friend's  ability 
and  never  for  a  moment  guessed  to  what  straits 
he  had  come.  Chester  had  never  been  associated 
In  his  mind  with  failure  and  he  confidently  ex- 
pected him  to  return  in  trailing  clouds  of  glory. 
He  was  still  thinking  of  him  when  his  partner, 


HIS  RESURRECTION  277 

Norah  Ellis,  started  to  speak  of  Vincent.  "  You 
used  to  know  Mr.  Vincent  well,  didn't  you^  "  she 
asked. 

"  Yes,"  he  admitted,  at  length. 

"  Why  do  you  hesitate  .f*  "  she  demanded.  "  I'm 
his  friend  as  well  as  you." 

He  looked  relieved.  This  air  of  mystery  taxed 
him  somewhat.  "  He  used  to  be  my  greatest 
friend,"  he  said.  "  He  is  my  greatest  friend  now," 
he  corrected.    "  What  do  you  know  about  him.?  " 

"  That  he  was  a  member  of  all  the  right  clubs 
and  lost  his  money.  Was  it  drink.?  "  she  demanded 
suddenly. 

Osmund  grinned  cheerily.  "  What  put  that 
idea  into  your  head.?  "  he  asked.  *'  Why,  when  we 
were  at  Yale,  I  got  into  a  hard  drinking  set  and 
he  pulled  me  out  of  it  almost  against  my  will.  He 
gave  me  an  awful  hammering  once,  for  —  well,  to 
be  exact,  for  shipping  too  much  whiskey.  He 
can  hit  like  a  horse  kicking,"  he  added,  reflecting 
on  ancient  memories.  "  He  isn't  a  total  abstainer, 
not  by  a  long  shot,  but  he  keeps  himself  in  hand. 
Tell  me  what  put  that  into  your  head .?  " 

"  So  many  men  go  that  road,"  she  sighed. 
"  You  remember  Peter  Harrington,  who  led  all 
the  cotillions,  three  years  ago,  and  is  now  a  re- 


278  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

mittance  man  in  Brussels,  and  Elmer  Crofts,  who 
took  poison  a  month  ago.  Wasn't  it  drink  with 
them?" 

"  I  know,  I  know,"  he  admitted  uneasily,  "  I 
know  we  all  drink  far  too  much,  but  I'm  going 
to  cut  it  out  when  I  marry  and  be  a  model  hus- 
band. Look  at  Marjery,"  he  cried  as  she  passed 
with  her  partner.    "  Isn't  she  worth  it?  " 

Norah  smiled  at  his  enthusiasm.  "  You're  a 
lucky  man,"  she  said. 

"  Vincent,"  Osmund  went  at  the  word  care- 
fully, "  always  used  to  say  that  I  was  cut  out  for 
a  happy  married  man.  I  used  to  jeer  at  him  but 
he  was  right.  By  the  way,"  he  asked  curiously, 
"  where  did  you  meet  him  ?  " 

"  It  was  most  romantic,"  she  cried  brightly. 
"  I  was  coming  down  the  American  Rhine  in  the 
launch  when  he  caught  a  crab  and  lost  the  oar; 
his  little  boat  was  drifting  out  to  the  ocean 
when  I  towed  him  home." 

Osmund  looked  doubtful.  "  Vincent  caught  a 
crab  and  lost  an  oar?  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  There  was  another  man  in  the  boat,"  she 
admitted. 

"  That's  the  chap  who  lost  the  oar,"  Osmund 
declared. 


HIS  RESURRECTION  279 

"  Couldn't  we  help  him?  "  she  asked. 

The  man  shook  his  head.  "  Never.  He's  as 
proud  as  Lucifer,  Son  of  the  Morning.  I  offered 
him  anything  I  had  but  got  turned  down  cold. 
But  what  makes  you  think  he  needs  help?"  he 
added,  suspiciously.  "  You  almost  give  me  the 
impression  that' he's  down  and  out." 

She  felt  a  thrill  of  satisfaction  that  not  even  to 
his  old  friend  but  only  to  her  had  he  confided  the 
hardships  he  had  undergone. 

"  He'll  win  yet,"  she  said,  and  meant  it. 

"  I  don't  like  all  this  mystery,"  he  returned 
irritably.  "  Here's  a  man  whose  friends  would 
back  him  to  any  extent,  let's  say  of  a  million,  and 
he  refuses  to  be  helped.    It  isn't  natural." 

"  I  think  it's  rather  fine,"  she  said  softly. 
"  Being  helped  isn't  fighting,  is  it?  " 

"  Perhaps  not,"  he  grumbled.  "  But  what  is 
the  use  of  a  man  taking  a  heavy  handicap  volun- 
tarily? It  may  prove  his  strength,  but  it  wears 
him  down  in  the  long  run." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    KINGDOM    OF    LOVE 

"  To  do  great  things,  a  man  must  live  as  though  he  had  never 
to    die."  —  Vauvenargues. 

WHEN  the  dance  was  over,  she  watched 
him  lead  his  fiancee  proudly  away.  She 
sighed  half  enviously  and  was  aware  of 
Chester  at  her  side. 

"  They'll  be  happy,"  she  said,  "  and  I'm  afraid 
there  are  not  many  to  bear  them  company.'' 
She  was  so  full  of  this  that  his  silence  passed  un- 
noticed. But  in  the  great  dining  room  where 
supper  was  served  on  little  separate  tables,  she 
became  conscious  of  it.  "  You  are  very  quiet," 
she  said. 

"  I  was  only  giving  you  the  opportunity  to 
reflect,"  he  answered. 

"  I  was  reflecting  about  you,"  she  observed. 

"  I  pray  they  were  pleasant  reflections,"  he 
said,  formally. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       281 

"  Pleasanter  evidently  than  yours,"  she  cried. 
Then  she  noticed  that  he  was  watching  her  cousin 
and  Charles  Renalls. 

"  I  wish  you  had  told  me  about  him,"  he  said. 

"  What  could  I  tell  you  that  you  don't  know?  " 
she  demanded,  puzzled. 

"  It's  rather  ungracious  of  me  to  mention  it," 
he  returned,  "  because  after  all  you  were  kind 
enough  to  ask  me  here,  but  you  half  hinted  in  the 
Park  that  you  were  giving  this  dance  for  me." 

"  Well.?  "  she  said,  "  what  of  it.?  " 

"  Why,  don't  you  see  when  Mrs.  Godfrey  told 
me  it  was  all  arranged  for  that  man,  I  was  dis- 
appointed." 

"  What  else  did  she  tell  you .?  "  the  girl  de- 
manded. 

"  That  you  were  going  to  marry  him.  That 
was  all,  I  think." 

"  And  you  believed  it.?  " 

"  Naturally.  I  agreed  with  her  that  it  was  a 
good  match." 

She  looked  him  full  in  the  race.  "  Why  don't 
you  congratulate  me,  then .?  " 

"  Do  you  care  for  empty  phrases .?  " 

"  Can't  you  say  it  from  your  heart.?  " 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  I  can't.     You  should  have  a 


282  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

better  man  than  he.  I  don't  know  a  man  who  is 
worthy  of  you,  but  he  isn't." 

"  You  interest  yourself  very  much  in  my 
affairs,"  she  said.  "  Suppose  I  had  asked  you 
whether  you  were  engaged,  what  would  you  have 
said?    Wouldn't  it  have  seemed  unwarranted?  " 

"  I  should  have  told  you,"  he  said  simply, 
"  I  was  engaged  once.  She  chose  another  life  — 
the  religious  life  —  I  saw  her  take  the  vows.  She 
was  a  saint  and  God  knows  there's  little  enough 
of  the  saint  about  me." 

"  I  don't  think  you  have  ever  been  bad,"  she 
said. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders.  **  It  seems  to  me  I 
have  always  played  the  fool." 

"  I  wish  you  wouldn't  talk  like  that,"  she  re- 
turned. "  Surely  you  need  not  seize  on  this  night, 
the  night  of  the  dance  that  was  given  for  you, 
to  make  me  miserable." 

He  looked  at  her  eagerly.  "Then  it  wasn't 
given  for  him  ?  " 

"  It  was  given  for  you,"  she  answered  steadily. 
"  What  Alice  meant  by  telling  you  that,  and," 
she  colored,  "  all  that  nonsense  about  my  marry- 
ing him,  I  can't  imagine." 

"  Then  it  wasn't  true?  "  he  cried. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       283 

"  I  shall  never  marry  him,"  she  said. 

Her  statement  brought  him  immeasurable  re- 
lief, although  he  knew  it  could  not  bring  him  nearer 
to  those  hopes  which  he  could  hardly  dare  to 
cherish.  He  had  instantly  detected  in  Renalls  a 
coarseness  of  fibre  which,  however  he  might  have 
concealed  it  from  the  girl,  was  patent  to  him.  It 
could  never  be  that  he  could  think  of  her  marriage 
without  a  pang  but  to  see  her  sacrificed  to  a  man 
of  the  Renalls  type  was  unbearable. 

But  it  was  later  on  in  the  evening,  when  the 
dance  was  drawing  to  a  close,  that  the  full  measure 
of  his  resolve  not  to  see  her  again  impressed  itself 
upon  him. 

She  was  sitting  out  with  him  in  a  little  sheltered 
alcove  when  she  realized  this  air  of  depression. 
*'  I  think  you  are  wishing  you  hadn't  come," 
she  said. 

"  What  makes  you  say  that.''  "  he  asked. 

"  You  are  suddenly  so  silent." 

"  It  isn't  that  I  regret  coming,"  he  assured  her. 
"  It  is  because,  when  New  York  lies  far  behind  me, 
I  shall  be  sorry." 

"  Are  you  going  then.f*  "  she  demanded.  "  Have 
you  forgotten  my  friend  who  has  mining  inter- 
ests f" 


284  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  No,"  he  said,  gratefully,  "  I  haven't  for- 
gotten; but  when  he  comes,  the  odds  are,  he  will 
say  like  all  the  rest  that  I  have  no  experience. 
New  York  is  full  of  men  who  know  all  there  is  to 
know  about  subjects  that  I've  hardly  mastered 
the  elements  of.  I  don't  stand  a  ghost  of  a  chance 
with  them." 

He  hardly  understood  the  feeling  of  hopeless- 
ness that  was  upon  him.  The  gorgeous  scene, 
the  rich  dresses  and  all  the  thousand  reminders  of 
his  old  life  seemed  farcical  when  he  thought  of 
the  existence  that  had  been  his  lately  and  was 
likely  to  be  his  in  the  future. 

"That  isn't  very  friendly  of  you,  is  it.^"  she 
asked.  "  You  make  a  sudden  resolve  to  go  away 
when  New  York  surely  offers  the  greatest  oppor- 
tunities to  a  man  who  wants  to  get  on." 

He  looked  at  her  almost  hungrily.  Never  had 
she  seemed  so  fair,  so  desirable  and  so  far  away. 
She  was  provocative  of  regrets  and  hopes  unat- 
tainable and  withal  she  seemed  so  alluring.  But 
he  was  a  penniless  man  and  she  had  great  pos- 
sessions. 

"  I  have  thought  It  over  very  carefully,"  he 
answered.    "  I  am  convinced  that  I  am  right." 

"  Isn't  friendship  worth  having  then?  " 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       285 

"  There  has  been  nothing  half  so  sweet  to  me 
as  yours,"  he  cried.  "  There  has  been  nothing 
which  helped  me  as  much.  My  resolve  wasn't 
made  hastily." 

"  I  am  sorry,"  she  said,  simply,  "  I  haven't 
many  friends  and  I  shall  miss  you." 

He  glanced  at  her  in  despair.  Could  he  not 
let  her  know  that  he  was  renouncing  this  great 
gift  for  fear  of  betraying  himself.''  The  reproach 
in  her  voice  drove  all  sense  of  caution  from  him. 

"  My  dear,"  he  said  softly,  "  my  dear,  don't 
you  see  that  I  must  go,  I  who  have  no  right  to 
think  of  you,  love  you  so  much  that  I  dare  not 
come  here  again.  How  could  I  come  here  and  talk 
calmly  and  collected  when  my  whole  soul  was 
crying  out  for  you .''  " 

She  was  leaning  forward  in  the  attitude  he  knew 
so  well,  her  exquisite  profile  clear  as  a  cameo  in  the 
soft  crimson  light  of  the  shaded  lamp.  She  did 
not  look  at  him;  instead,  she  seemed  to  be  idly 
playing  with  her  fan.  "  Then  this  is  good-bye," 
she  said  dully. 

He  looked  at  her  in  despair,  and  the  passion  of 
his  longing  broke  through  the  calculated  prudence 
of  his  resolves  and  sent  the  blood  racing  through 
his  veins.    The  mere  touch  of  her  shoulder  against 


286  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

his,  the  rare  loveliness  of  her  face  and  the  thought 
of  what  this  banishment  would  mean  to  him,  drove 
him  almost  to  madness.  He  clenched  his  hand  and 
prayed  for  a  calmer  mood  but  such  strength  was 
not  his.  Instead,  he  put  his  arms  about  her  and 
kissed  her,  all  unresisting,  a  score  of  times. 

"  Good-bye,  my  dear,"  he  whispered,  "  and  for- 
give me." 

It  seemed  to  him  that  there  was  a  wail  in  her 
voice.    "  Oh,  why  did  you  do  it.''  "  she  cried. 

"  Because  I  couldn't  help  myself,"  he  answered. 
"  It  was  unpardonable,  I  know,  but  I  shall  always 
be  glad  I  did.  I'm  not  going  to  a  happy  life  and 
if  there  is  one  thing  that  will  make  it  livable,  it 
will  be  this  memory.  No  matter  what  you  may 
say  or  think  or  what  may  happen  to  me,  I  shall 
always  remember  that  I  held  you  in  my  arms  and 
your  lips  were  pressed  against  mine  and  your 
heart  beat  next  to  my  heart." 

Her  silence  oppressed  him.  He  had  risen  to 
his  feet  and  gazed  down  at  her.  "  Shall  I  go.''  " 
he  asked  soberly. 

"  Do  you  suppose  I  shall  ever  forget  either.''  " 
she  said  slowly.  "  It  was  true  you  had  no  right 
to  do  it,  but  what  do  you  gain  by  going  away.''  " 

He  looked  at  her  in  amazement.    Instead  of  the 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       287 

resentment  which  he  had  expected  to  find,  there 
was  only  an  undercurrent  of  sadness. 

"  Don't  you  want  me  to  go  away?  "  he  stam- 
mered. 

"  I  hardly  understand  myself,"  she  said.  "  I 
thought  we  were  friends,  really  friends.  I  treas- 
ured your  friendship.  I  hardly  know  rnyself," 
she  added.  "  I  thought  it  was  friendship  on  your 
part.  I  said  to  myself  only  an  hour  ago  that 
friendship  was  a  very  beautiful  thing." 

"  And  I  thought  so,  too,  at  first,"  he  said,  "  but 
out  of  my  friendship  grew  something  more  beauti- 
ful." He  looked  at  her  sadly.  "  What  must  you 
think  of  me  for  breaking  it  like  this .''  " 

"  Sit  down  again,"  she  told  him,  "  I  want  to 
try  to  think  what  this  means."  He  took  the  seat 
at  her  side.  "  You  have  made  everything  so 
difficult,"  she  cried.  "  I  liked  you,  I  was  sorry 
for  you,  I  wanted  to  help  you." 

"  You  gave  me  new  life,"  he  said. 

"  When  you  said  you  must  go  I  thought  you  had 
done  right.  I  could  have  shaken  hands  with  you 
and  never  known  what  had  gone  out  of  my  life, 
if  you  had  not  taken  me  in  your  arms."  She  put 
a  timid  hand  on  his  arm,  "  I  can't  let  you  go,  now, 
my  dear." 


288  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

There  are  crises  in  life  that  can  be  met  only 
with  silence.  He  looked  into  her  eyes,  eyes  dimmed 
as  never  before  he  had  seen  them,  and  knew  cer- 
tainly that  the  kingdom  of  love  was  before  him. 
And  in  that  divine  moment  he  became  conscious 
of  the  strength  within  him  to  conquer,  which  can 
only  come  to  those  who  have  their  resting  place 
in  a  woman's  heart.  He  raised  her  hands  with 
something  of  reverence  to  his  lips. 

She  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence.  Her 
whole  being  was  flooded  with  a  tender  pride  in  her 
lover.  There  was  no  room  left  for  suspicion  or 
doubt.  He  loved  her  and  was  strong  and  every- 
thing must  end  happily.  She  was  too  happy  to 
take  thought  of  the  morrow.  "  How  nearly  I 
missed  you,"  she  whispered, 

"  It  was  all  mapped  out  by  fate,  Sweetheart," 
he  cried,  "  we  were  never  meant  to  miss  one  an- 
other." He  drew  her  closer  to  him.  "  It  was  not 
accident;  it  was  all  some  merciful  design." 

She  sighed  happily.  "  But  suppose  you  had 
gone!  I  should  have  found  out  too  late  that  I 
loved  you  and  how  could  I  have  endured  life.f'  " 

He  grew  more  serious  when  she  spoke  of  the 
future,  but  there  was  no  longer  the  hopelessness 
which  was  his  but  a  few  minutes  before.     There 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       289 

were  giants  in  the  way  but  he  had  something  to 
fight  for,  someone  to  inspire  him  with  a  courage 
that  was  stronger  than  anything  he  had  ever 
hoped  to  possess.  She  was  anxiously  watching 
him. 

"  Why  do  you  still  look  sad  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  am  thinking  I  can  never  love  you  enough," 
he  answered.  He  took  her  hands  in  his.  "  Dear 
white,  slender,  strong  little  fingers,"  he  cried, 
"  I  kiss  each  one  of  them.  How  tiny  they  are! 
And  yet  they  dragged  me  out  of  the  maelstrom." 

She  looked  at  him  with  glistening  eyes.  There 
is  nothing  so  sweet  to  the  woman  who  loves  as  to 
be  told  how  she  has  helped. 

"  Did  I  do  that.?  "  she  asked. 

"  Dear,"  he  returned,  "  it  was  not  only  down 
the  Hudson  that  I  was  drifting  when  you  came 
to  the  rescue.    Who  taught  you  to  be  an  enchant- 


ress 


?» 


"  I  practise  my  spells  for  my  lord  alone,"  she 
smiled. 

"  And  for  none  else  ?  " 

"  I  can't  think  of  anyone  else,"  she  said.  "  I 
can  only  think  of  you  and  that  you  love  me." 

Renalls'  voice  in  the  distance  brought  her  back 
to  earth.     She  wished    it    had    been    to    anyone 


290  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

else  that  the  next  dance  was  given.  She  felt  that 
his  keen  eyes  must  inevitably  read  the  secret  of 
her  happiness.  She  raised  her  face  to  her  lover's. 
"  Good-bye  for  a  little  while." 

Renalls,  secure  In  the  knowledge  that  he  could 
damn  Vincent  by  a  mere  recital  of  the  police  court 
incident,  hugged  his  secret  not  decided  whether 
to  use  it  now  or  to  wait  until  other  episodes  could 
be  added  to  it.  It  put  him  in  a  good  humor  which 
was  in  marked  contrast  to  that  exhibited  earlier 
in  the  evening.    He  looked  at  Norah  critically. 

"  You  never  looked  better,"  he  exclaimed. 

"  I  am  happy,"  she  said  simply. 

"  Why,"  he  asked,  "  is  happiness  something 
new  then  ?  " 

"  I  love  dancing,"  she  returned,  serenely,  "  this 
is  a  favorite  waltz  and  for  once  you  are  jiot  wreck- 
ing the  careers  of  other  couples." 

And  there  were  others  who  noticed  her  radiance. 
Osmund  commented  on  it  regretfully  to  his  fiancee, 
"  What  she  can  see  in  a  brute  like  Renalls  beats 
me,"  he  exclaimed. 

The  financier  was  far  too  shrewd  and  suspicious 
to  be  lulled  into  security  by  any  such  evasive 
answers.  He  had  made  it  his  business  to  find  out 
that  Norah  had  given  Vincent  many  dances  and 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       291 

sat  out  with  him  this  last  one.  And  since  she  had 
never  before  shown  so  decided  a  preference  for 
the  company  of  any  other  man,  it  raised  vague 
alarm  in  him.  In  so  much  as  he  could  banish  his 
inordinate  ambition  and  think  of  anyone  but 
himself,  Norah  absorbed  more  of  his  thoughts 
than  any  woman  he  had  known.  She  was  beauti- 
ful, she  was  an  admirable  hostess  and  the  marriage 
would  help  him  in  many  ways.  No  other  man,  he 
swore,  should  have  her. 

He  had  listened  keenly  to  the  reporter's  story 
and  hoped  good  would  come  of  the  inquiries  he 
was  determined  to  pursue.  The  young  journalist 
had  depicted  Vincent  as  a  professional  swindler 
whose  bluff  had  for  once  been  called.  But  Renalls 
had  gained  no  such  impression  of  him.  He  was 
no  common  swindler.  He  must  be,  Renalls  felt, 
one  of  the  more  prosperous  adventurers  who  prey 
upon  a  credulous  society  even  to  the  point  of 
assuming  titles  and  marrying  heiresses.  He  was 
plainly  after  Norah's  supposed  fortune.  No  living 
being  had  so  clear  an  idea  of  the  state  of  the  girl's 
finances  as  Renalls.  By  the  exercise  of  his  skill 
and  through  the  financial  journal  which  he  owned, 
the  financier  was  able  to  help  or  hinder  her  in  the 
ambitious  scheme  of  turning  the  Brazilian  mines 


292  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Into  a  great  corporation.  It  would  be  easier  now 
Cosway  was  out  of  the  way  and  she  had  no  reliable 
person  behind  her.  No  one  knew  better  than  he 
what  a  broken  reed  her  partner  Mendoza  was. 

Norah  was  far  too  much  engrossed  to  notice  his 
silence.  She  was  existing  only  for  the  last  dance 
with  Chester.  She  was  determined  that  on  this 
night,  this  blessed  night  when  the  love  which  she 
had  thought  no  part  of  her  lot  was  vouchsafed 
her,  no  disturbing  elements  must  enter.  She  an- 
swered Renalls'  questions  with  a  gentleness  which 
surprised  him.  Her  tongue  did  not  always  spare 
him. 

But  it  seemed  an  eternity  before  she  found  her- 
self alone  with  Richard.  "  If  there  had  been  an- 
other dance,"  she  said,  "  I  should  have  refused  to 
dance  it.  I  should  have  left  my  partner  and  tried 
to  find  you."  She  was  surprised  to  find  with  what 
ease  the  reserve  dropped  from  her.  "  I  could 
hardly  bear  it." 

"  And  I  tried  to  talk  sensibly  to  people,"  he 
declared,  "  but  I'm  sure  I  failed.  Mrs.  Godfrey 
said  that  since  she  first  came  out,  no  partner  had 
ever  kept  looking  at  the  clock  as  I  did.  She  won't 
forgive  me  easily." 

"  I  love  you  for  it,"  she  cried.     She  looked  at 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       293 

him  eagerly.  "  Have  you  realized  that  I  don't 
know  anything  at  all  about  you?  Don't  tell  me 
anything  tonight  if  you  don't  want  to;  but  you 
can't  think  how  devoured  by  curiosity  I  am  to 
learn  everything  there  is  to  know  about  you.  Were 
you  a  good  little  boy  or  a  bad  little  boy  ?  I  wonder 
if  you  had  any  sisters  and  if  they  were  nice  to  you. 
I'm  jealous  of  every  woman  you  ever  spoke  to. 
And  think  of  it,  I  don't  even  know  your  Christian 
name!  I  can't  always  call  you  pretty  names  when 
other  people  are  near,  can  I.'*  " 

"  It's  not  a  very  pretty  name,"  he  laughed. 
"  Whittington  of  pussy  cat  fame  bore  it,  too." 

"  Richard,"  she  said.  "  And  so  did  the  Coeur  de 
Lion.  I  like  it.  Of  course  I  shall  call  you  Dick. 
There's  something  straightforward  and  manly 
about  it  and  there  are  all  sorts  of  nice  little  con- 
tractions of  it  that  I  can  use  when  I  feel  like  it. 
Do  you  know  there's  something  rather  fascina- 
ting in  knowing  so  little  of  one  another.  In  the 
only  way  that  matters,  we  know  each  other  per- 
fectly, but  in  all  the  little  things  we  have  surprises 
in  store."  She  looked  at  him  with  a  smile.  "  Sup- 
pose you  are  disappointed  in  me,  Richard." 

"Suppose  the  sun  never  shines  again!"  he 
retorted. 


294  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I  have  many  vices,"  she  declared.  "  I  get 
neuralgia  and  evil  tempers." 

"  I  wish  I  were  as  certain  of  being  half  as  good 
as  you,"  he  said,  "  and  I  should  he  happier.  And 
as  for  dreading  what  I  may  discover,  have  you 
forgotten  my  love  for  exploration?  " 

"We  must  go  there  again  in  the  spring,"  she 
answered.  "  I  can  never  think  so  kindly  of  any 
spot  on  earth  as  that  quaint  old  place."  She  looked 
at  him  with  mock  reproach.  "  Do  you  know  our 
very  acquaintance  began  in  deception.?  Like 
Douglas  Gordon  in  the  song,  you  '  threw  away 
your  oar,  your  sail,  your  rudder,'  and  shouted 
for  help.     Have  I  trusted  you  too  much.'*  " 

It  was  truer  than  she  knew  that  their  first  meet- 
ing had  begun  with  deception.  It  seemed  years 
ago  to  Chester  since  that  night  when  he  crouched 
behind  the  Louis  Seize  screen  and  first  saw  her. 
There  was  no  fear  in  his  mind  that  when  the  time 
came  for  an  explanation  she  would  blame  him. 
How  or  when  circumstances  would  permit  him  to 
tell  her  were  matters  for  future  consideration  — 
something  as  yet  on  the  knees  of  the  gods. 

Her  love  had  swept  some  of  his  old  self-sufficiency 
away.  "  I  hope  you  will  never  think  that,"  he 
said.     "  I  want  all  your  trust  and  love,  darling." 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       295 

"  You  know  It  is  all  yours,"  she  cried.  "  I  keep 
back  nothing." 

"  I  sha'n't  much  longer,"  he  said;  he  knew  that 
there  must  be  between  them  the  absolute  faith 
born  of  perfect  knowledge. 

She  stroked  his  hair  with  a  caressing  gesture. 
"  My  poor  boy,"  she  said,  "  you've  had  hard 
times  and  you've  been  very  plucky  and  I  am  con- 
tent to  begin  to  know  you  from  tonight." 

"  That's  generous  of  you,"  he  cried,  "  that's 
just  what  I  should  have  expected."  He  paused 
for  a  moment.  "  Dear,  there  are  many  things  to 
be  done  before  I  can  tell  you  but  you  must  know 
me  from  the  beginning." 

"  When  you  like,"  she  said,  looking  at  him  with 
eyes  of  affection.  "  Dick,  did  I  ever  tell  you  I 
thought  you  were  handsome.^  I  do  think  it. 
There's  the  tiniest  little  wave  in  your  hair  that  is 
charming  and  just  at  the  temples  there  are  some 
hairs  hiding  underneath  the  others  as  though  they 
were  ashamed  of  being  gray.  Are  you  very  old, 
my  Richard .?  " 

"  Very,"  he  sighed.  "  One  and  thirty  summers 
have  passed  me  by." 

"  A  whole  quarter  of  a  century  has  rolled  by 
me,"   she    returned.      "  I    wish    we    were    both 


296  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

younger;  there  would  be  more  good  years  before 
us.  I  can't  bear  to  think  we  may  be  cheated  of 
even  a  moment." 

"  We  sha'n't  be,"  he  exclaimed  with  conviction. 

"  Then  you  mustn't  leave  New  York,"  she  in- 
sisted. 

"  I  was  only  going  to  escape  from  you,"  he  told 
her.  "  I  was  afraid  of  my  enchantress  and  of 
myself  and  everything  else." 

"  It's  a  promise  then.^  "  she  asked. 

"  It's  a  vow,"  he  returned. 

"  Life  is  very  kind,"  she  sighed  happily.  "  I 
think  I  have  always  been  rather  happy  but  now 
I  feel  that,  like  all  the  stories  I  loved  as  a  small 
child,  we  shall  end  up  happily  and  live  for  ever 
afterwards."  She  turned  to  him  a  moment  later, 
her  face  graver  than  he  had  seen  it. 

"  Did  it  ever  occur  to  you,"  she  demanded, 
"  that  I  might  have  a  past.''  " 

"  I  decline  to  hear  about  it,"  he  returned  plac- 
idly. There  was  no  doubt  in  his  mind  as  to  what 
she  was  thinking. 

"  But  I'm  serious,"  she  persisted.  "  It  was  one 
of  the  reasons  that  made  me  sorry  when  I  found 
I  had  grown  to  like  you.  I  had,  you  know,"  she 
smiled,  "  even  before  you  kissed  me,  but  I  wouldn't 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       297 

admit  it  till  now.  Oh,  Dick,  my  dear,  I'm  afraid 
you'll  be  angry.  You  look  so  frightfully  stern 
sometimes  that  I'm  terrified  to  think  you  may  be 
angry." 

"  Is  it  trusting  me  fully  when  you  assume  I 
shall  be  angry  .f*  "  he  asked,  tenderly. 

"  But  suppose  it  turns  out  to  be  something  very 
bad.?" 

"  You  never  did  anything  bad,"  he  declared 
with  conviction,  "  and  I  wouldn't  believe  yoii  if 
you  had.  And  if  you  told  me  still  that  it  was  bad 
I  should  know  that,  whatever  it  was,  there  were 
circumstances  which  could  explain  everything." 

"  It's  very  comforting  to  hear  you  talk  that 
way,"  she  said,  gratefully.  "  But  I'm  not  going 
to  confess  now.  I  hope  I've  never  met  you  be- 
fore," she  continued,  with  sudden  irrelevance. 

"Why.?"  he  asked. 

"  It  would  seem  a  sort  of  disloyalty  to  forget 
you,"  she  said. 

"  But  you  couldn't  be  supposed  to  remember 
any  casual  partner  at  a  ball,"  he  objected,  "  even 
if  we  had  met  at  one,  which  we  certainly  have 
not." 

"  Perhaps  men  don't  think  of  these  things  as 
women  do,"  she  told  him;    "  you  see  I've  been 


298  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

expecting  you  for  years  and  years.  I  used  to  say 
I  should  never  marry  and  that  I  liked  women's 
society  better  than  men's,  but  it  all  meant,  my 
wise  Richard,  that  you  hadn't  come  and  kissed 
me.  So  can't  you  see  how  angry  I  should  feel  with 
myself  if  I  thought  I  had  met  you  and  not  known 
you.?" 

He  breathed  more  easily  when  she  did  not  pur- 
sue the  subject  to  greater  lengths.  When  he  had 
made  good  he  would  tell  her  how  he  had  met  her 
and  whose  ring  she  wore  but  the  time  was  not  yet 
come.  The  Innate  Chester  pride  had  not  been 
tamed  by  poverty  and  manual  toil.  If  he  were  to 
confess  that  she  was  in  reality  his  wife,  how  could 
he  bear  to  leave  her  and  settle  down  into  the  work 
through  which  alone  he  hoped  to  win  her.?  There 
was  never  a  thought  in  his  mind  about  giving  her 
up  and  his  determination  to  make  a  good  fight 
was  due  to  the  desire  to  show  himself  worthy  of 
her.  And  It  was  a  fine  ambition  and  the  spirit 
of  his  long  dead  ancestor,  the  knightly  Sir  Richard, 
lived  in  him  and  lighted  up  his  face.  The  girl  by 
his  side  felt  a  great  pride  in  him.  Her  voice  was 
very  tender  when  she  asked,  "  What  are  you 
thinking  of.?  " 

"  Of  you,"  he  said,  "  and  the  day  when  you  will 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LOVE       299 

be  mine  absolutely  and  I  can  look  back  on  one 
or  two  little  years  and  offer  them  to  you  as  gifts." 

Willingly  would  she  have  dowered  him  with  all 
that  was  hers  and  raised  him  from  the  hard  lot 
in  which  she  guessed  him  to  be  placed,  but  she 
recognized  in  him  the  pride  that  would  not  ac- 
cept. 

"  There  are  many  things  I  must  talk  to  you 
about  tomorrow,"  she  said,  "  things  that  one 
can't  talk  of  now." 

"  When  may  I  come.''  "  he  asked  eagerly. 

"  Tomorrow  at  half-past  three." 

The  preliminary  bars  of  music  brought  her  to 
her  feet.  "  How  I  grudge  you  those  dances  with 
other  women,"  she  sighed. 

"  Shall  I  like  to  see  other  men  with  you .''  "  he 
asked. 

"  I  hope  not,"  she  said.  "  I  want  you  to  be 
impatient  of  everything  that  keeps  us  apart. 
Say  good-bye  to  me  now,  Dick.  At  the  end  I  shall 
only  be  able  to  give  you  a  smile  and  a  hand-shake." 
She  lifted  her  face  to  his.  He  strained  her  to 
him,  and  she  seemed  slight  and  frail  as  a  child.  A 
sense  of  infinite  tenderness  overwhelmed  him. 
His  kingdom  of  love  was  a  kingdom  of  certainty. 


CHAPTER  XV 


LOUIS     SEIZE     AGAIN 


"  It's  a  deep  mystery  —  the  way  the  heart  of  man  turns  to  one 
woman  out  of  all  the  rest  he's  seen  in  the  world,  and  makes  it  easier 
for  him  to  work  seven  years  for  her,  like  Jacob  did  for  Rachael, 
sooner  than  have  any  other  woman  for  the  asking."  —  George  Eliot. 

NOTHING  could  have  made  more  plain 
to  Chester  the  present  social  difference 
between  him  and  Norah,  or  the  need  to 
gather  all  his  energies  about  him  in  the  fight,  than 
the  contrast  between  the  gorgeous  rooms  he  had 
left  and  the  bare  chamber  which  he  shared  with 
Peck. 

He  found  it  so  close  that  he  flung  open  the 
window  to  let  in  the  cool  air  of  early  morning. 
Peck  had  shut  it  tight  for  the  reason  that  when  a 
man  is  forced  to  eat  but  sparely,  warmth  at  night 
is  more  comforting  than  healthful  ventilation. 
Chester's  action  awakened  him  and  he  sat  up 
yawning  in  bed. 

"Had  a  good  time.-*  "  he  asked  sleepily. 

"  Good  is  not  the  right  word,"  his  friend  de- 


LOUIS  SEIZE  AGAIN  301 

clared.  "  There  is  no  word  known  which  could 
describe  it.  I'm  alive  again.  Yesterday  at  this 
time  I  was  as  those  who  go  down  to  the  pit;  now 
I  am  like  twenty  giants." 

Peck  looked  at  him  and  shrugged  his  shoulders. 
"  Enigmas,"  he  said.     "  I  never  guess  them." 

Chester  sat  at  the  foot  of  his  bed.  "  Not  enig- 
mas," he  retorted,  "  miracles." 

Peck  shivered.  "  Pneumonia  is  coming  through 
the  open  window,  meanwhile,  double  pneumonia. 
Shut  it  and  talk  ordinary  common  sense." 

"  I'm  full  of  it,"  Chester  returned  gaily.  "  My 
dear  man,  I  forgive  everybody.  I  feel  like  a  char- 
acter in  Dickens  at  the  approach  of  Christmas." 

"  I  wish  the  landlady  did,"  Peck  exclaimed. 
"  You've  been  falling  foul  of  her,  it  seems." 

"  There's  another  matter  for  discussion,"  Ches- 
ter said,  his  good  humor  unabated.  "  I  broke  a 
mirror.  What  usually  happens  after  that.''  Seven 
years  of  ill  luck.  Peck,  that  is  a  vain  and  idle 
superstition,  an  elaborate,  proverbial  lie.  I  am 
proof  of  it.  Tonight  has  been  the  most  splendid 
of  all  my  life." 

"  Cards .''  "  demanded  the  other. 

Chester  looked  at  him  with  scorn.  "  Your  soul 
cleaves  to  the  dust,"  he  said. 


302  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I  don't  see  that  at  all,"  Peck  cried.  "  In  our 
present  circumstances  good  luck  can  only  take  the 
form  of  money.  If  you  haven't  made  money, 
justly  or  unjustly,  I  don't  want  to  hear  about  it." 

"  I  wasn't  going  to  tell  you,"  Chester  said.  "  It 
was  something  that  had  to  do  solely  with  me. 
As  to  making  money,  I  have  the  strength  to  do 
it." 

"  Strength!  "  sneered  Peck,  "  that's  nothing.  I 
had  all  that  a  man  wanted,  but  one  meal  a  day 
and  disappointments  soon  toned  that  down. 
Luck  is  what  I'm  looking  for.  Some  people  call 
it  opportunity  and  some,  Providence,  and  the 
good  folks  call  it  answers  to  prayer,  but  it's  just 
blind,  fickle  luck." 

"  I'm  afraid  you  don't  like  being  roused  from 
your  beauty  sleep." 

"  It  was  the  landlady,"  said  Peck,  "  she  upset 
me.  I  was  reading  a  copy  of  Catullus  that  I 
bought  in  the  five  cent  box  at  a  second-hand  book 
store  when  she  burst  in  and  gave  me  not  only  the 
private  opinion  of  her  husband  and  herself  con- 
cerning you  but  the  individual  opinion  of  every 
other  roomer  in  the  house.  By  reason  of  your 
glad  rags,  you  are  credited  with  being  a  bunco- 
steerer  temporarily  out  of  a  job," 


LOUIS  SEIZE  AGAIN  303 

Chester  was  suddenly  oppressed  with  the  sor- 
dldness  of  his  surroundings.  A  fierce  longing  to 
break  away  from  them  took  hold  of  him.  He  took 
off  his  coat  and  hung  it  up. 

"  My  glad  rags  are  going  to  pay  for  the  mirror," 
he  said,  quietly. 

"  We  needn't  pay  her  the  five  she  asks,"  Peck 
advised,  "  and  it's  a  pity  to  sell  those  togs  if  you 
can  keep  them.  What  about  those  cuff  buttons.^ 
Are  they  real .?  " 

Chester  looked  at  them  closely.  "  I  expect 
they  are,"  he  answered.  "  I  found  them  in  the 
bottom  of  my  trunk.  I  think  I  bought  them  at 
Tiffany's." 

"  There's  the  money  right  here,"  Peck  declared 
after  examining  them.  "  We  are  going  to  have 
a  lucky  streak  from  now  on.  If  you  haven't  got 
news  with  money  in  it,  I  have.  I've  got  a  job  as 
a  copy-holder  in  a  big  printing  plant.  Eight  dollars 
a  week,  my  boy,  and  the  chance  to  get  a  proof- 
reader's job  later  on.  I've  been  reading  up  the 
subject  and  it  seems  perfectly  simple  to  a  man 
with  any  decent  education.  It's  a  non-union 
shop  or  I  shouldn't  get  a  chance.  I  start  at  eight 
on  Monday." 

And  Peck,  who  graduated   artium  baccalaureus 


304  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

with  honors,  chuckled  at  the  prospect  of  replacing 
a  lad  with  a  common  school  education.  There 
is  a  certain  mordant  humor  about  the  competition 
called  life. 

"  Good  man,"  said  Chester,  "  that's  splendid. 
Times  are  going  to  change  despite  the  landlady's 
predictions  and  the  mirror  that  was  used  on  the 
Mayflower.'*^ 

"  I  wonder,"  said  Peck,  "  if  there's  any  chance 
of  my  getting  any  editorial  work.''  "  It  had  long 
been  his  aim  to  win  such  a  position  but  his  lack 
of  experience  had  always  been  his  undoing. 

"  Very  probable,"  Chester  returned.  He  was 
as  ignorant  as  his  friend  of  these  things.  They 
neither  of  them  knew  that  the  proof-reader  is 
typographically  considered  neither  fowl,  flesh  nor 
good  red  herring,  and  is  stuck  in  a  small  smelly 
den  amid  the  rattle  of  presses  and  expected,  in 
such  surroundings,  to  catch  every  mistake  and 
wage  unequal  warfare  between  careless  linotype 
operators  and  foremen  who  want  to  cut  down 
expenses.  Peck  fell  asleep  dreaming  of  editorial 
chairs  but  the  other  man  was  too  overwrought  to 
rest.  He  was  impatient  for  the  daylight  so  that 
he  might  go  out  and  conquer  where  before  he  had 
failed.     No  longer  alone  and  bound  on  a  journey 


LOUIS  SEIZE  AGAIN  305 

that  promised  no  successful  issue,  he  now  saw  a 
way  opening  before  him,  not  without  difficulties, 
but  lightened  by  that  faith  and  hope  of  the  woman 
he  loved. 

He  had  never  been  so  profoundly  nervous  as 
when,  at  the  time  appointed,  he  was  shown  into  a 
reception  room  of  the  Godfrey  house.  Might  she 
not,  he  feared,  now  that  the  light  and  glamor 
of  the  ball  room  was  gone,  view  things  differently 
and  repent  .'*  He  reproached  himself  for  these 
thoughts  savoring  of  treachery,  but  the  day  was 
gray  and  gloomy  and  the  full  extent  of  her  sacri- 
fice was  horribly  apparent.  His  bare  room,  and 
this  great  apartment!  He  was  too  nervous  to  sit 
still;  he  wandered  aimlessly  about  the  room  paus- 
ing before  bronzes  and  pictures  without  seeing 
them.  One  photograph  of  Norah  showed  her 
much  the  same  as  the  miniature  he  had  taken  from 
the  Beau  Sejour.  He  was  looking  at  it  inteptly 
when  the  door  opened  and  the  original  came  in. 
For  a  moment  she  stood  still  and  looked  at  him. 
And  he  read  in  her  eyes  the  denial  of  his  doubts 
and  fears  and  stretched  out  his  arms  to  her. 

"  I  was  almost  afraid  to  come  in,"  she  con- 
fessed. "  I  stood  outside  and  heard  my  heart 
beating." 


306  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"Did  you  feel  it,  too?"  lie  cried.  "  I  could 
hardly  bear  to  think  about  it.  It  seemed  some- 
thing so  wonderful  that  it  frightened  me.  Darling, 
do  you  know  you  are  the  most  beautiful  girl  in 
all  this  dear  old  world?  I've  never  dared  to  look 
at  you  as  I  may  now.  If  I  had,  you  would  have 
guessed  that  I  loved  you." 

"  Do  you  think  I  should  have  minded  it?  "  she 
asked  almost  shyly.  "  Dick,  I  think  I  must  have 
loved  you  long  before  I  guessed  it." 

Presently  she  rose.  "  I  want  you  to  come  to 
my  drawing  room,"  she  said.  "  This  is  Mrs.  God- 
frey's;   it's  larger  but  you'll  like  mine  better." 

It  was  situated  on  the  next  floor  and  he  knew, 
before  he  entered,  that  it  would  be  furnished  in 
the  period  of  the  sixteenth  Louis. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  it?  "  she  asked. 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  room,"  he  said.  "  I  think  I 
should  have  chosen  such  a  one  for  you."  His  eye 
rested  on  the  screen  in  the  corner  through  whose 
hinge's  chink  he  had  first  seen  her,  and  her  eye 
following  his,  sent  a  color  to  her  cheeks  and  made 
her  more  than  ever  determined  to  tell  him  what 
was  in  her  mind. 

"  I  told  you  last  night,"  she  began,  "  that  I 
had  something  to  confess." 


LOUIS  SEIZE  AGAIN  307 

"  I  am  not  anxious  to  hear  it,"  he  returned 
lightly.     "  I  do  not  want  to  hear." 

"  But  you  must,"  she  protested.  "  It  may 
make  you  hate  me.     I'm  very  serious." 

He  found  himself  in  an  unpleasant  predicament. 
To  have  to  listen  to  a  story  he  already  knew  so 
well  savored  too  much  of  hypocrisy  to  suit  him; 
but  there  was,  obviously,  nothing  else  to  do.  He 
listened  in  silence.  On  the  nervous  fingers  that 
played  with  the  pendent  chain  about  her  neck  he 
saw  no  Chester  ring.  When  she  had  finished,  she 
looked  at  him  anxiously.  It  was  an  awkward 
moment. 

"  What  does  it  matter.?  "  he  said.  "  You  have 
only  got  to  divorce  him  and  all  will  be  well.  Isn't 
it  rather  strange  that  you  have  delayed  so  long.^*  " 

"  I  am  forced  to  it,"  she  said.  "  On  that  awful 
night  I  was  so  beside  myself  with  nervousness 
and  disgust  that  I  didn't  even  catch  the  man's 
name.    My  lawyer  attended  to  all  that." 

"  Why  didn't  he,  then.?  "  Chester  demanded. 

"  He  died  within  a  week  and  he  hadn't  time  to 
start  the  thing.  He  had  no  children  and  a  nephew 
travelling  in  Europe  is  the  heir.  He  won't  be 
back  till  May  and  won't  consent  to  any  docu- 
ments being  touched  until  he  returns.     You  see 


308  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Mr.  Cosway  had  practically  retired  from  law;  he 
only  looked  after  my  affairs  out  of  kindness  for 
me.  All  my  private  papers  are  locked  up  and 
sealed  and  I  can't  get  at  them." 

"  Can't  you  get  an  order  from  the  courts  allow- 
ing your  present  lawyer  to  get  at  them.?  " 

"  I  dare  not  run  the  risk  of  publicity,"  she  said. 
"  Nobody  has  yet  found  out  and  I  should  have 
the  whole  country  publishing  pictures  of  me  and 
special  stories.  I  could  never  live  down  the  dis- 
grace, for  it  was  disgraceful  to  be  forced  into 
marriage  like  that." 

"  Then  you  must  wait  until  May,"  he  said 
cheerfully.  "  You  don't  remember  where  —  er  — • 
where  the  man  lived.?  "  he  asked  later. 

"  I  remember  nothing,"  she  said.  "  After  he 
had  gone  I  fainted  from  the  excitement  and  was 
ill  for  a  week.  You  see  in  cases  like  that,  papers 
have  to  be  served  and  I  can't  entrust  a  lawyer  to 
serve  them  on  a  nameless  man  at  an  unknown 
address."  She  looked  at  him  rather  timidly. 
"  Don't  you  despise  me.?  "  she  asked,  "  don't 
you  think  it  was  unwomanly  and  horrid  of 
mer 

"  I  didn't  know  what  room  there  was  in  my 
soul  for  love  and  admiration  till  now,"  he  said 


LOUIS  SEIZE  AGAIN  309 

tenderly.  "  Poor  little  girl,  you've  had  your 
troubles." 

"  But  nothing  like  yours,"  she  cried.  "  But 
Dick,  my  dear,  they're  all  over." 

"  And  if  mine  are  not,"  he  said,  "  I  can  bear 
them  now  all  right." 

"  Dick,"  she  returned,  "  I'm  afraid  you  are 
a  very  obstinate  person.  You've  got  one  of  those 
horribly  resolute  jaws  and  you  look  very  stern 
at  times.  I'm  afraid  even  that  you  are  so  ob- 
stinate that  you  won't  let  the  people  who  love 
you,  help  you.  Your  interests  are  my  interests 
now  and  mine  must  be  yours." 

"  They  are,"  he  declared. 

"Then  will  you  let  me  help  you."*  I  don't 
see  how,  for  the  moment,  but  I  can't  go  on  living, 
if  I  have  to  think  of  you  suffering." 

"  Dearest,  you  won't,"  he  said  gently.  "I  am 
going  to  get  along.  I  feel  it  in  my  bones  and  you'll 
be  much  gladder  if  I  do  it  alone.  Really  and 
truly  I'm  not  afraid  of  hard  work.  Does  this 
sound  ungracious  and  as  though  I  were  too  proud 
to  accept  anything  from  the  woman  who  has  given 
me  her  love.'*"  He  looked  at  her  anxiously. 
"  Dearest,  it  isn't  that  at  all.  It  is  only  that  I 
feel  I  must  work  out  my  own  salvation." 


310  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I  think  I  love  you  all  the  more  for  it,"  she 
said  slowly,  "  but  I  shall  suffer.  How  can  I  be 
happy  if  I  think  you  may  be  digging  tunnels  or 
something  of  that  sort?  " 

"  I  am  hitched  to  a  star,"  he  laughed.  "  Never 
think  of  me  as  working  underground  like  a  mole." 

"  When  are  we  to  see  one  another.''  "  she  de- 
manded.   "  I  can't  lose  you  directly  I've  got  you." 

"  On  Sundays,"  he  said.  "  You  see  the  week 
may  not  be  my  own." 

"  Every  minute  of  Sunday  is  yours,"  she  de- 
clared. She  looked  at  him  very  tenderly.  "  Dick, 
my  dear,  if  you  get  ill  and  you  shouldn't  get 
on  as  you  want  to  and  you  lose  heart  and  hope 
and  health  and  in  the  end  I  lose  you  through  it, 
what  shall  I  do.^"  Is  my  heart  to  break  because 
of  your  pride.''  " 

He  kissed  the  tears  from  her  eyes.  "  My  Sweet," 
he  whispered,  "  that  can't  be  the  ending.  If  it 
should  be,  I  shall  come  to  you  and  confess  I  have 
failed,  but  I  want  to  come  to  you  as  a  victor. 
Wouldn't  you  rather  I  came  as  one  who  had  con- 
quered J  " 

She  shook  her  head.  "  Don't  you  understand 
that  when  a  woman  loves  a  man,  she  can  love 
the  man  who  lost  as  much  as  the  man  who  won.-* 


LOUIS  SEIZE  AGAIN  311 

Sometimes  I  think  she  loves  him  more.  You 
would  be  my  hero,  Dick,  whether  the  world  called 
you  so  or  not.  I  think  women  are  tenderer  to  de- 
feat than  men.  The  prodigal  son  said  he  would 
go  and  ask  his  father  for  forgiveness.  He  knew 
his  mother  would  forgive  him.  You  talk  some- 
times as  though  you  had  committed  dreadful 
sins.  Dick,  I  forgive  you  for  all  you  have  ever 
done  so  long  as  you  love  me." 

There  was  something  very  splendid  to  him  in 
the  complete  love  and  trust  she  showed.  He  felt 
abashed  by  it  and  very  humble. 

"  What  can  I  ever  do  to  repay  you.''  "  he  said. 

"  You  said  last  night  you  would  bring  me  one 
or  two  years  as  gifts.  Dick,  bring  them  quickly 
if  you  love  me." 

Presently  she  spoke  of  her  affairs  and  the  pos- 
sibility that  Renalls,  when  once  he  had  learned 
of  her  engagement,  might  turn  from  a  friend  to 
an  avowed  enemy. 

"  Let  him,"  cried  Chester.  "  I  can't  bear  the 
idea  of  your  having  that  man  anywhere  near 
you.    What  is  his  enmity  to  us  1  " 

"  My  dear  boy,"  she  laughed,  "  my  splendid, 
reckless  Dick,  don't  you  understand  his  power.? 
He  might  wreck  the  North  Brazil  Goldfields  just 


312  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

as  thev  are  going  to  be  put  on  the  open  market. 
His  influence  is  tremendous." 

"  I  detest  him,"  Richard  avowed  frankly, 
"  and  he  hates  me." 

"  I  hope  you  won't  quarrel  till  the  thing  is 
settled,"  she  said.  She  looked  at  the  clock. 
"  I  promised  Alice  I  would  take  you  down  to 
her  room  for  tea.  You  must  be  very  nice  to  her. 
You  know  you  were  rather  silent  last  night  and 
she  thinks  you  are  very  dull  and  I  can't  have 
anybody  thinking  my  Richard  is  dull." 

"  She  would  keep  talking  and  prevent  me 
from  thinking  about  you,"  he  protested.  "  I  just 
wanted  to  be  let  alone." 

"  But  you  can't  expect  a  woman  to  want  a 
silent  partner,"  the  girl  said.  "  I  want  you  to 
make  amends,  remember." 

But  he  was  not  allowed  much  time  to  talk  with 
her.  After  she  had  given  him  a  cup  of  tea,  she 
announced  that  Mr.  Renalls  was  coming  at  five 
o'clock.  He  had  talked  with  her  over  the  tele- 
phone. 

"  He  is  a  great  friend  of  Norah's,"  Mrs.  God- 
frey said  pointedly.  "  I  sometimes  wonder  what 
she  would  do  without  him." 

"  He  is  to  be  envied,"  Chester  said  placidly. 


LOUIS  SEIZE  AGAIN  313 

It  was  not  in  Alice  Godfrey's  power  to  make  him 
jealous. 

"  I  would  much  rather  you  two  didn't  meet," 
Norah  whispered  to  him  presently.  She  blushed. 
"  I  don't  want  him  to  know  about  it  yet.  Do 
you  mind.'*  It  will  be  so  uncomfortable  to  have 
two  sulky  men  glaring  at  one  another." 

"  Am  I  banished.?  "  he  asked  dismally. 

"There  is  Sunday,"  she  reminded  him.  "If 
it  is  fine,  shall  we  go  to  Undercliff  .>*  If  it's  dull 
you  must  lunch  here  with  me.  Alice  is  going 
away  on  Saturday  and  we  shall  not  be  bothered 
with  anyone.  Will  you  come  here  for  me  on 
Sunday  at  twelve,  rain  or  shine.?  " 

"  I  should  like  anyone  to  try  to  keep  me  away," 
he  said. 

When  he  had  bidden  Mrs.  Godfrey  good-bye, 
Norah  walked  to  the  head  of  the  great  stairway 
and  there  they  made  their  adieux. 

"  You  must  think  a  great  deal  of  Mr.  Vincent 
to  walk  to  the  stairway  with  him,"  Mrs.  Godfrey 
said  sharply.  She  was  piqued  at  the  lack  of  atten- 
tion she  considered  Chester  paid  her. 

"  I  do,"  Norah  returned  carelesslv. 

"  I  don't  know  what  Charlie  Renalls  will  say 
to  it,"  the  elder  woman  remarked. 


314  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  My  dear  Alice,"  said  Norah  quietly,  "  Let  us 
understand  one  another.  I  care  nothing  whatso- 
ever for  Mr.  Renalls'  opinion  on  the  matter." 

"  You  needn't  be  unpleasant  about  it,"  pro- 
tested the  other. 

Norah  laughed  gently.  "  I'm  not  going  to  be 
argumentative  today.  It's  one  of  my  lucky  days 
and  it  mustn't  be  spoiled.  Only,  Alice,  please 
remember  that  a  man's  asking  me  to  marry  him 
gives  him  no  right  to  dictate  to  me.  Charlie 
is  getting  rather  censorious  of  late  and  I  don't 
care  for  that  sort  of  thing." 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE     BUSINESS     MAN 


"  I  have  often  thought  upon  death,  and  I  find  it  the  least  of  all 
evils.  All  that  which  is  past  is  as  a  dream;  and  he  that  hopes  or 
depends  upon  time  coming,  dreams  waking."  —  Bacon. 

IT  was  getting    very  cold  as   Chester  passed 
down  the  avenue,  but  since  he  had  taken  his 
things,  or  some  of  them,  from  pawn  he  was 
warmly  clad  and  he  walked  down  to  the  Hungarian 
Restaurant  on  Second  Avenue  living  over  again 
the  golden  memories  of  the  day. 

Peck  was  not  at  the  restaurant,  and  when 
Chester  waited  and  still  he  had  not  come,  he  went 
to  the  Astor  Library  and  to  the  Cooper  Union 
and  was  again  unsuccessful.  It  had  been  his 
intention  to  tell  his  friend  something  of  the  good 
fortune  which  was  now  his  and  he  waited  till 
seven,  the  dinner  hour,  and  then  had  his  meal 
alone.  On  returning  to  his  room  it  was  evident 
that  Peck  had  not  been  in.  The  landlady  had 
seen  nothing  of  him.  In  the  morning,  when  he 
had  not  returned  and  there  was  no  communica- 


316  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

tion  from  him,  Chester  began  to  feel  a  vague 
alarm.  At  the  precinct  police  station,  he  was 
bidden  to  search  the  hospitals.  The  sergeant  made 
a  casual  note  on  the  blotter.  "  We  have  heard 
nothing,"  he  said. 

At  the  first  three  hospitals  there  was  no  sign  of 
Peck.  At  last  he  came  to  the  grim  Bellevue. 
He  was  told  that  a  man  answering  his  descrip- 
tion had  been  brought  in  dying  yesterday  after- 
noon. He  had  been  run  over  by  a  trolley  car 
when,  in  trying  to  board  it,  he  had  slipped  on  the 
icy  pavement.  Chester  was  directed  to  the  room 
where  three  bodies  lay  waiting  —  a  grim,  cold 
chamber  smelling  horribly  of  disinfectants. 

One  was  an  old  man  with  a  grizzled  beard,  an 
alien  member  of  another  race  who  had  come  from 
far  Lithuania  to  the  golden  city  which  spelled 
freedom  and  wealth  to  him;  and  he  had  died  in 
the  streets  of  the  golden  city  of  his  dreams,  of 
starvation.  The  second  body  was  that  of  a  poor 
hollow-chested  tailor  whom  fate  had  compelled 
to  work  in  a  sweat  shop  where  he  caught  tubercu- 
losis and  died  of  it.  It  was  a  fate  which  would 
come  to  his  friends  who  were  still  working  there 
and  reading  the  ironic  literature  of  a  great  cru- 
sade which  directed  sufferers  to  spend  many  hours 


THE  BUSINESS  MAN  317 

In  the  open  air,  to  eat  good  food  and  drink  many 
pints  of  milk. 

On  the  third  table,  his  white  face  upturned  to 
the  skylight  and  the  eager  boyish  look  not  ban- 
ished by  the  last  mystery,  was  Chester's  friend. 

The  attendant,  to  whom  death  was  no  longer  a 
grim  spectacle  but  a  common  fact  to  talk  of  and 
even  to  jest  about,  turned  to  the  man  who  stood 
bareheaded  by  the  table.  "  Is  this  your  friend  ?  " 
he  inquired.  For  a  moment  Chester  could  not 
speak.  There  were  tears  in  his  eyes  and  he  gulped 
back  a  sob.    "  He  was  my  friend,"  he  said  simply. 

Before  he  left  the  building,  he  asked  of  the  man 
what  became  of  bodies  such  as  Peck's  whose 
relatives  were  unknown. 

"  The  unclaimed  dead  go  to  the  Potter's  Field," 
he  was  informed. 

Directed  by  this  attendant  to  the  office,  he 
spoke  to  a  member  of  the  clerical  staff.  "  I  wish 
to  make  myself  responsible  for  the  funeral  of  my 
friend,"  he  said.  "  May  I  ask  you  to  see  that  pre- 
cautions are  taken  to  that  effect.^  " 

"  Sure,"  said  the  man  easily,  "  we  like  to  be 
relieved  from  it.  Murphy,  on  the  corner,  is  a 
good  undertaker."  He  made  the  necessary  order 
and  demanded  to  know  when  the  interment  would 


318  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

take  place.  "  The  quicker  the  better,"  he  sug- 
gested. "  It  will  be  all  right,"  he  assured  Chester 
comfortingly,  "  it's  only  the  babies  that  get 
changed." 

In  his  desolate  room  Chester  examined  his 
friend's  belongings.  There  were  no  letters  which 
could  give  indications  as  to  relatives  or  close 
friends.  There  were  no  things  of  value.  A  few 
books,  mostly  of  poetry,  were  there,  Horace,  The- 
ocritus, Vergil,  Alfred  de  Musset,  Keats,  Shelley 
and  Stevenson.  And  open  was  the  five-cent 
Catullus  of  which  the  dead  man  had  made  some 
metrical  translations.  Out  of  the  mass  of  filth, 
he  had  picked  that  wonderful  Ode  to  Lesbia, 
founded  on  some  idea  of  Moschas,  centuries 
earlier,  than  which  Catullus  wrote  nothing  more 
beautiful.  Was  it  some  dim  prophetic  instinct, 
Chester  wondered,  which  made  his  friend  choose 
the  four  lines  of  it  commencing,  "  soles  occidere 
et  redire  possunt,"  to  translate.''  Peck  had  thus 
rendered  the  lines: 

"  With  the  fled  day  a  new  one's  born; 
When  dies  our  little  light, 
There  comes  that  long,  still  night 
To  sleep,  that  knows  no  mom." 

There  was  something  inexpressibly  sad  in  the 
pagan  hopelessness  of  the  last  line.     Dead  in  the 


THE  BUSINESS  MAN  319 

moment  which  offered  him  work,  and  all  uncon- 
scious of  the  secret  his  friend  was  hoarding  or 
the  effect  that  it  might  have  on  his  future,  poor, 
loyal,  enthusiastic  Everard  Peck  came  to  his  death. 

It  was  with  a  heavy  heart  that  Chester  sat 
down  to  write.  And  there  was  forced  upon  him  the 
feeling  that  fate  must  have  some  motive  deeper 
than  blind  chance  which  compelled  him  to  write 
of  death  in  the  first  letter  to  his  Norah.  "  My 
Dearest,"  he  wrote,  "  a  great  grief  has  befallen 
me  in  the  death  by  accident  of  the  true  friend  of 
whom  I  spoke  to  you.  He  lies  now  in  the  Morgue 
awaiting,  unless  I  can  avert  it,  burial  with  the 
nameless  dead.  The  funeral  will  cost  rather  less 
than  a  hundred  dollars  and  there  is  no  one  whom 
I  can  ask  but  you.  My  heart  is  very  sad  and 
I  shall  want,  more  than  you  can  think,  your  dear 
comfort  on  Sunday.  I  am  sending  this  by  a 
messenger  whom  I  can  trust.  He  will  wait  for 
your  answer.    R.  V." 

There  was  a  fifteen-year-old  son  of  the  landlady 
who  had  taken  a  great  liking  to  the  old  Yale 
athlete  and  he  went  willingly  upon  the  errand.  He 
came  back  speedily  with  accounts  of  a  great  man- 
sion where  footmen  guarded  the  portal  and  there 
was  a  luxury  incredible. 


320  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

There  were  two  fifty-dollar  bills  in  the  envelope 
and  a  hastily  scribbled  note.  "  Darling,"  it  ran, 
"  I  am  very  proud  that  you  asked  me,  but  I  am 
very  sad  for  you.  All  my  love  and  all  I  have  is 
yours.    Norah." 

It  was  the  generous  answer  he  had  expected  and 
lifted  in  a  measure  some  of  the  load  from  his 
heart,  although  there  was  still  the  disquieting 
association  of  death  being  intertwined  with  this 
beginning  of  a  new  life.  But  the  immediate  re- 
sult was  an  overpowering  relief  that  the  body  of 
the  man  he  loved  was  not  to  lie  in  an  unnumbered 
grave  but  in  a  brighter  spot.  He  was  buried  in 
a  quiet  corner  of  Kensico  Cemetery  and  there 
his  friend  took  leave  of  him  whose  short  life  had 
been  blameless  but  unfortunate. 

Sunday  brought  with  it  rain  and  the  river 
outing  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  He  lunched  alone 
with  Norah  and  her  sympathy  in  his  loss  revealed 
a  very  tender  side  of  the  woman  who  loved  him. 
He  was  distressed  to  find  her  looking  pale  and 
almost  ill. 

"  Don't  worry,"  she  cried,  reassuring  him. 
"  I  get  dreadful  colds  at  the  beginning  of  the  cold 
weather  and  only  get  rid  of  them  by  going  away 
for  a  few  weeks  at  a  time." 


THE  BUSINESS  MAN  321 

His  face  fell.  "  Going  away  for  a  few  weeks!  " 
he  repeated. 

*'  I  shall  hate  it,"  she  said  emphatically,  "  but 
if  I'm  ordered  to  Jamaica  as  usual,  I  shall  have 
to  rush  away." 

He  looked  very  serious.  "  Is  it  anything  wrong 
with  your  lungs.^  " 

"  Not  a  bit,"  she  said,  "  I'm  very  strong  and  can 
play  tennis  all  day  long  and  outwalk  most  men, 
but  I'm  susceptible  to  colds  at  this  time  of  the 
year  and  I'm  sensible  enough  to  take  care  of 
myself.  Don't  you  want  me  to  be  careful.'*  I 
have  you  to  think  of  now,  Dick." 

"  Oh,  my  dear,"  he  cried,  "  if  anything  hap- 
pened to  you,  I  should  die.  Of  course  you  must 
go.     I  shall  write  to  you  every  day." 

"  I  shan't  go  without  letting  you  know,"  she 
exclaimed.  "  Perhaps  by  next  Sunday  I  shall 
be  better  and  the  weather  finer." 

"  It's  winter  now,"  he  returned.  "  UnderclifF 
must  wait."  He  looked  at  her  anxiously.  "  You 
look  so  frail,"  he  said  tenderly.  "  In  the  summer 
you  were  as  brown  as  a  berry  and  now  you  look  so 
white." 

"  I  shall  be  well  again  after  three  days  in  the 
Caribbean,"  she  assured  him,  "  and  I  shall  come 


322  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

back  tuned  up  for  all  the  work  and  fun  of  the 
winter.  There'll  be  other  dances,"  she  reminded 
him,  *'  and  you  will  have  to  look  after  me.  Up 
to  now  I  have  always  boasted  of  my  independence. 
After  all,  it's  rather  nice  to  have  a  man  to  wait 
on  one  and  I  can  even  see  something  nice  in  wait- 
ing on  a  man.  That  is,  of  course,"  she  added, 
"  if  he  is  the  one  man  of  them  all.  If  you're  not 
very  careful,  Dick,  I  shall  spoil  you  abominably." 

When  he  left  her,  after  a  day  which  banished 
many  months  of  loneliness,  he  was  inspired  by 
the  hope  that  the  new  week  was  to  bring  him 
luck. 

His  first  errand  on  Monday  was  to  acquaint 
the  printing  firm  of  which  Peck  had  spoken  that 
death  had  robbed  them  of  a  copy-holder.  Ignorant 
of  the  exact  position  of  the  proof-reader  qr  copy- 
holder in  such  an  establishment,  he  bent  his 
steps  to  the  manager's  office  instead  of  to  the  com- 
posing room.  He  stated  the  fact  briefly  and  then 
asked  if  he  could  try  to  fill  the  position. 

The  manager  looked  at  him  in  astonishment. 
Chester  was  still  dressed  well  and  his  bearing  and 
manner  was  not  like  those  who  seek  lowly  po- 
sitions. "  It  wouldn't  suit  you  at  all,"  said  the 
manager.     "  To  begin  with,  there's  no  money  in 


THE  BUSINESS  MAN  323 

it  and  It  leads  to  nothing."  He  shook  his  head 
decidedly.    "  You  are  out  of  a  position,  then  ?  " 

"  I'm  looking  for  one,"  Chester  returned. 

The  manager  thought  for  a  moment.  "  Do 
you  know  anything  about  printing.'*  " 

"  Not  a  thing,"  said  the  other. 

"  A  superficial  knowledge  is  easily  picked  up," 
the  manager  declared.  "  A  day  or  so  spent  nosing 
around  and  asking  questions  will  give  you  all  the 
knowledge  required  to  start.  Weight  of  paper, 
layouts,  type  and  the  rest  come  gradually  and 
there  is  always  the  estimating  man  to  help." 

"  In  what.''  "  Chester  demanded,  puzzled. 

"  Why,  I'll  tell  you.  One  of  our  city  salesmen 
has  just  'phoned  to  say  he  has  got  a  new  job  and 
won't  be  around  here  again.  He  was  fairly  suc- 
cessful and  knew  next  to  nothing  about  it.  I'll 
put  you  on  in  his  place  if  you  like.  What  do  you 
say.!*  "  The  manager  was  a  man  who  "  hired  men 
on  their  faces  "  and  Chester  Impressed  him  as  a 
man  who  could  readily  obtain  an  interview  with 
a  client  and  he  had  need  of  such  an  one. 

"  What  Is  there  in  it.''  "  the  younger  man  de- 
manded. He  had  learned  by  this  time  that  eager- 
ness to  obtain  a  position  often  militated  against 
success. 


324  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Ten  per  cent,  commission,"  said  the  manager. 
"  This  is  a  big  house  with  a  big  name  and  we 
don't  want  the  sort  of  loafers  who  get  a  drawing 
account  and  live  on  it.    What's  it  to  be?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Chester,  "  but  where  am  I  to  learn 
about  paper  and  type  and  the  rest  of  it?  " 

"  Right  here,"  the  manager  asserted,  touching 
a  buzzer. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  you  may  think  I'm  an  easy 
mark  because  I  hire  you  right  off,  but  never  think 
that  for  a  moment.  The  last  man  I  hired  came  to 
me  with  the  best  references  you  ever  saw  and 
did  nothing,  and  a  man  who'd  been  a  school 
teacher  in  Maine  came  here  and  made  good. 
We  don't  stand  to  lose  on  you,  but  if  you  don't 
make  good,  you  lose.     See?  " 

Chester  smiled.    "  You  make  it  perfectly  plain." 

A  man  entered  into  whose  charge  Chester  was 
given.  Under  his  tutelage  he  learned  much  and 
went  to  his  frugal  luncheon  with  little  samples 
of  paper  in  little  books.  To  his  room  he  took  a 
huge  book  of  types  and  a  work  on  electros.  It 
was  a  new  phase  of  industry  for  him  but  he  was 
quick  and  had  been  told  what  rewards  lay  in 
store  for  the  successful  salesman  who  was  in  no 
way  related  to  the  intruding  peddler  of  unwanted 


THE  BUSINESS  MAN  325 

books.  He  wandered  into  the  composing  rooms 
and  learned  what  a  linotype  machine  was  and 
many  of  the  mysteries  of  typography  were  made 
plain  to  him.  He  sat  at  the  estimator's  desk;  and 
watched  intricate  layouts  of  booklets,  catalogues 
and  folders  worked  cleverly  to  completion  in  the 
art  department.  He  became  gradually  aware 
that  his  new  firm  stood  high  and  it  was  a  lucky 
chance  that  brought  him  there.  With  the  other 
salesmen  he  made  acquaintance  and  found  them 
for  the  most  part  decent  fellows  ready  to  impart 
what  they  knew. 

On  Thursday,  after  three  full  days,  he  asked 
permission  to  try  his  luck.  The  manager,  who  was 
a  kindly  man  and  interested  in  the  new  salesman, 
furnished  him  with  some  good  leads.  "  There's 
the-  new  Hotel  Beau  Site  on  the  Plaza,"  he  sug- 
gested. "  Their  printing  will  be  worth  a  fortune  to 
the  man  who  gets  it.  We've  never  done  anything 
for  them  although  I've  been  to  see  them  myself, 
but  there's  no  reason  why  you  shouldn't  try  and 
get  a  part  of  it."  He  gave  Chester  the  name  and 
address  of  the  general  manager,  who  bought  all 
supplies  and  looked  after  the  publicity. 

To  this  office  Chester  straightway  betook  him- 
self.    A   young  lady,  exhibiting  the  latest  style 


326  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

of  coiffure,  came  to  him  and  demanded  his  busi- 
ness. She  looked  doubtful  when  she  heard  that 
he  wished  to  see  her  employer.  She  pointed  out 
half  a  dozen  men  who  were  waiting  their  turn. 
"  And  there's  someone  with  him  now,"  she  said. 

"  What  shall  I  do.^  "  he  asked  with  a  smile. 

Now  it  happened  that  the  maiden  was  romantic 
and  a  reader  of  novels.  He  presented  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  hero  in  whose  exploits  she  was  for 
the  moment  much  interested,  a  tall,  dark  hero 
with  clean-cut  features  and  a  fascinating  way. 
Also,  this  discerning  damsel  decided  that  he  was 
"  class,"  She  looked  at  the  waiting  six  with 
distaste.  They  were  none  of  them  six  feet  high, 
most  of  them  looked  commonplace  and  not  one 
had  vouchsafed  her  a  fascinating  smile. 

"  You  go  and  sit  on  that  chair  over  there," 
she  said,  "  by  the  boss's  door,  and  when  the  man 
in  there  comes  out,  you  go  in.  Otherwise  you 
might  have  to  wait  three  hours  or  more." 

The  waiting  six  watched  his  progress  with  in- 
tense indignation.  One  of  them  essayed  to  wax 
sarcastic  with  the  lady  in  charge  but  was  sig- 
nally defeated.  Chester,  oblivious  of  this,  took 
the  indicated  seat.  It  was  the  other  side  of  a 
glass  partition  which  did  not  go  up  to  the  ceiling. 


THE  BUSINESS  IMAN  327 

He  could  plainly  hear  what  was  going  on.  The 
talk  of  the  two  men  he  could  not  see  was  of  the 
printing  of  a  booklet  which  was  to  be  as  far  su- 
perior to  other  hotel  booklets  as  the  Beau  Site 
was  above  all  other  famous  hostelries.  Then 
followed  minute  directions  as  to  photographs  and 
the  general  make-up  of  the  book.  The  manager 
was  used  to  buying  printing  and  knew  what  he 
wanted.  The  other  man,  presumably  a  salesman 
of  a  rival  house,  was  copying  down  in  his  notebook 
the  particulars.  In  that  moment  Chester  became 
a  business  man;  in  the  neat  notebook  he  had,  he 
copied  the  whole  of  the  highly  technical  details 
down. 

"  And  now,"  said  the  manager,  "  when  can  I 
have  the  estimate.''  That  book  is  needed  in  a 
mighty  hurry." 

"  Let's  see,"  Chester  heard  the  other  man  reply. 
"  Today  is  Thursday.  I'll  let  you  have  it  by  the 
first  mail  tomorrow,  Friday." 

The  hotel  man  grunted,  "  Can't  I  have  it  to- 
night.? " 

"  I'm  afraid  not,"  said  the  salesman.  "  It's  a 
big  job  and  our  estimator  is  working  overtime." 

"  Funny  you  can't  work  it  out  yourself,"  com- 
plained the  other.    "  I  wanted  to  take  that  esti- 


328  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

mate  and  prices  down  to  my  home  over  Sunday 
and  talk  about  it." 

Chester  waited  for  no  more.  He  sauntered 
back  to  the  gracious  maiden. 

"  I  think  I'll  call  back  later,"  he  said.  "  Shall 
I  find  him  in  at  half-past  two.'' " 

"  I'll  make  an  appointment,"  she  smiled, 
"  What  is  the  name.^  "  She  wrote  it  down.  "  Mr. 
Baumgarten  will  see  you  at  that  hour,"  she  said. 

As  fast  as  he  could  travel,  Chester  returned  to 
the  office  and  found  the  estimating  man  hard  at 
work.  He  declined  to  break  off  from  what  he  was 
doing  and  Chester  was  in  despair.  Against  his 
inclination  he  complained  to  the  manager,  whose 
eyes  glistened  when  he  heard  of  Chester's  scheme. 
He  strode  angrily  toward  the  estimator.  "  Sack- 
ett,"  he  cried,  "  drop  what  you're  doing  and  attend 
to  Mr.  Vincent's  business  and  do  it  quick." 

Without  a  word  the  man  took  the  particulars 
from  Chester,  the  number  of  pictures,  the  size  of 
the  type,  the  weight  of  the  stock,  number  of 
words  and  all  the  rest.  He  worked  the  thing  into 
prices  for  from  five  to  a  hundred  thousand,  and 
put  it  so  plainly  that  the  other  could  make  no 
mistake. 

At  half-past  two  he  was  shown  into  Baumgar- 


THE  BUSINESS  MAN  329 

ten's  office.  "  I'm  afraid  you're  too  late,"  the 
hotel  man  said,  "  I've  as  good  as  given  it  to  one 
of  your  rivals." 

"  Let  me  give  you  an  estimate,"  Chester  said. 
"  You  can't  beat  our  work  but  our  prices  are  high." 

"  Price  has  nothing  to  do  with  it,"  Baumgarten 
cried.  "  It's  a  high  class  proposition  and  I  want 
the  best  work  and  I  want  it  at  once.  I'm  to  have 
their  estimate  tomorrow,  first  mail,  and  I  shall 
probably  take  it." 

"  All  right,"  said  Chester,  rising.  "  I  could 
have  given  you  an  estimate  right  away  and  saved 
time." 

"You    could.'*"    cried    the   other. 

Chester  resumed  his  seat.  "  Let's  hear  the 
specifications,"  he  said. 

He  copied  it  once  again  and  added  and  sub- 
tracted innocuous  figures  for  the  space  of  two 
minutes.  Baumgarten  watched  him  admiringly. 
Chester  sprang  the  figures  on  him  suddenly  — 
Sackett's  figures. 

"  When  should  I  get  delivery.^  " 

Chester  was  ready  for  him.  The  manager  had 
vowed  if  the  order  were  to  be  brought  in  to  rush 
the  job  through  on  record  time.  His  reply  pleased 
Baumgarten   exceedingly.      Chester's   firm   stood 


330  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

deservedly  high  and  the  rival  firm  was  notoriously- 
slow  in  delivery. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said  suddenly,  "  you  get  the 
order." 

Chester  was  stunned.  It  was  precisely  as 
though  Mr.  Baumgarten  had  presented  him  with 
the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  This  repre- 
sented the  commission  he  had  made  in  an  hour. 
But  there  was  one  other  important  thing  the 
manager  had  impressed  on  him,  which  he  could 
not  recall.  He  stared  at  an  architect's  water 
color  of  the  Hotel  Beau  Site  and  presently  re- 
membered it.  "  By  the  way,"  he  observed,  "  you 
won't  mind  giving  me  a  letter  to  that  effect. 
It's  a  custom  of  the  house." 

"  I'll  do  it,"  Baumgarten  said,  ringing  an  elec- 
tric bell,  "  but  of  course  that's  conditional  on 
the  delivery  being  exactly  on  time." 

"  We  are  known,"  said  Chester  with  what 
calmness  he  could  muster,  "  as  practical,  punctual 
printers." 

The  stenographer  took  an  incredible  time  to 
get  the  letter  ready.  Suppose  Baumgarten  were 
to  become  suddenly  ill  and  the  letter  should 
never  be  signed!  But  when  it  was  handed  to 
him  he  found  it  hard  to  control  his  joy.     The 


THE  BUSINESS  MAN  331 

stenographer  little  knew  what  a  narrow  escape 
she  had  of  being  waltzed  around  the  sacred  cham- 
bers of  her  employer,  but  the  gracious  damsel  to 
whom  this  marvelous  piece  of  luck  was  due  was 
enraptured  at  the  gift  an  hour  later  of  a  gigantic 
box  of  candies.  The  elevator  man  who  passed 
the  time  of  day  with  Chester  and  remarked 
that  business  was  looking  up,  felt  a  dollar  bill 
thrust  in  his  hand.  "  Buy  a  cigar,"  said  the 
generous  stranger.  The  man  looked  at  it  lovingly 
and  on  his  way  home  purchased  a  box  of  them  at 
a  department  store  and  smoked  two  solemnly 
every  Sunday. 

Chester  received  the  especial  felicitations  of 
the  manager,  who  introduced  him  to  the  presi- 
dent, secretary  and  treasurer.  These  gentlemen, 
hearing  of  his  exploit,  commended  him  according 
to  their  several  manners.  The  president  said  he 
was  to  be  congratulated  on  getting  with  such  a 
house;  the  secretary  remarked  morosely  that  the 
less  one  knew  about  printing  the  better  chance  of 
success  there  was;  the  treasurer  said  that  he 
wished  he  had  fifteen  hundred  dollars  of  commis- 
sion coming  to  him. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


WAR     DECLARED 


"  To  every  man  there  come  noble  thoughts,  that  pass  across  his 
heart  like  great  white  birds  .  .  .  alas,  they  do  not  count;  they  are 
strangers  whom  we  are  surprised  to  see,  whom  we  dismiss  with  im- 
patient gestures."  —  Maeterlinck. 

IT  was  the  thought  of  this  splendid  commission 
which  would  shortly  be  his  that  raised  his 
spirits  to  such  a  pitch  that  he  could  hardly 
wait  until  Sunday.  He  was  afraid  almost  that 
the  footman  who  answered  the  bell  must  see 
triumph  written  on  his  face.  He  looked  south  and 
saw  the  twenty-story  Beau  Site  rising  into  the 
wintry  sky  with  a  sense  of  personal  gratification. 
Failure  was  no  longer  a  word  in  his  vocabulary. 
He  could  think  of  the  bitter  episodes  of  his  early 
search  for  work  with  a  smile. 

The  footman  looked  at  him  with  a  blandly 
inquiring  air.  "  Is  Miss  Ellis  at  home.?  "  Chester 
asked. 

"  She  is  not,  sir,"  returned  the  man. 


WAR  DECLARED  333 

"When  will  she  be?"  Chester  asked,  utterly 
taken  aback. 

"  She  is  out  of  town,"  the  footman  said. 

"Is  Mrs.  Godfrey  in?" 

"  She  too  is  out  of  town." 

"  My  name  is  Vincent,"  said  Chester  desper- 
ately, "  I  think  it  very  likely  that  Miss  Ellis  may 
have  left  a  letter  for  me." 

"  I  think  not,  sir,"  the  man  replied. 

"  Please  find  out  at  once,"  Chester  said. 

"  The  housekeeper  is  out  and  there  is  nobody 
else  who  could  inform  me." 

"  Where  is  Miss  Ellis  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  asked,  sir,"  the  footman  said,  as 
though  any  similar  inquiry  savored  of  gross 
impertinence. 

"  I  will  call  again,"  said  Chester. 

It  was  plain  that  the  man  either  could  not  tell 
or  was  concealing  his  knowledge.  If  so,  by  whose 
orders,  Chester  asked  himself.  Seriously  dis- 
turbed, he  returned  to  the  room  he  was  to  vacate 
the  next  day  and  penned  a  long  letter  to  Norah, 
breathing  a  certain  tender  reproach  that  she  had 
not  warned  him  or  allowed  him  to  say  good-bye. 
He  had  not  long  gone  from  the  Godfrey  house  when 
Renalls  came.    He  was  well  known  to  the  entire 


334  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

staff  of  servants  and  the  footman  who  had  given 
such  unsatisfying  answers  to  Chester  had  for- 
merly been  in  his  service. 

"  I  am  going  to  Jamaica  tomorrow,"  said  the 
financier,  "  and  will  take  any  mail."  He  was 
handed  a  number  of  letters.  "  And  this,"  said  the 
footman,  "  was  left  an  hour  ago  by  Mr. 
Vincent." 

Renalls  added  it  to  the  others  carelessly,  be- 
traying by  no  gesture  his  feelings.  When  he 
read  it  through,  he  saw  in  it  the  death-knell  to 
his  ambitions  and  postponed  for  a  few  days  his 
visit  south.  All  the  other  letters  but  Vincent's 
were  readdressed  and  sent  off,  and  he  began  his 
schemes  for  the  wreck  of  Norah's  mines  and  the 
ruin  of  her  lover. 

The  girl,  acting  under  the  immediate  orders  of 
her  physician,  had  taken  ship  to  Jamaica  at  a 
few  hours'  notice.  Telephoning  on  the  instant 
to  Number. One  Wall  Street,  she  was  soon  in  con- 
nection with  Enderby's  managing  clerk,  who  re- 
plied that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  address  of  Mr. 
Vincent,  but  only  that  he  called  there  for  mail. 
She  had  only  time  to  scribble  a  note  to  Richard 
when  the  boat  sailed.  Monday  found  Richard 
impatiently  awaiting  Biggs'  arrival  at  his  office. 


WAR  DECLARED  335 

He  said  there  were  no  letters  but  that  on  the 
Saturday  previous  a  lady  had  called  him  up. 
Richard  left  discouraged.  The  letter  he  sought 
had  been  posted  too  late  and  reached  Biggs  by 
the  second  delivery. 

Back  to  his  new  work  went  Richard,  strangely 
wearied  of  it  now  he  had  lost  his  lady  and 
full  of  dismal  boding  at  her  silence.  The  day 
passed  slowly;  nobody  wanted  to  buy  printing. 
On  Tuesday  he  received  Norah's  note.  She  gave 
no  address  but  said  she  would  write  instantly 
on  deciding  her  place  of  stay.  Life  at  once  as- 
sumed a  cheerful  aspect  and  he  made  a  small 
sale.  It  seemed  that  men  would  buy  more  readily 
of  a  cheerful  seller. 

The  promised  letter  had  not  come  by  the  mid- 
dle of  the  week  —  he  was  impatient  of  times  and 
tides  —  and  he  sought  the  society  pages  of  the 
New  York  daily  which  gives  the  doings  of  fashion- 
able Americans  at  the  winter  resorts.  There  was 
a  paragraph  devoted  to  the  West  Indies. 

"  Mrs.  Godfrey  of  New  York,  and  party,  are 
staying  at  the  Meadows  Hotel,  Constant  Springs," 
he  read.  In  the  column  of  advertising  opposite 
was  an  advertisement  of  it.  "  This  select  house," 
it  ran,  "  is  patronized  by  the  elite  of  both  hemi- 


336  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

spheres."  A  limited  number  of  guests  were  re- 
ceived; he  saw  it  was  recommended  for  its  air 
of  luxurious  quiet  and  it  was  kept  by  Valentine 
Faustin  Meadows.  It  was  his  Meadows,  the 
excellent  Meadows  of  ten  years'  faithful  service, 
that  perfect  valet  whom  envious  nature  had  de- 
prived of  hair!  The  Meadows  who  had  fallen 
victim  to  the  tender  passion  and  had  succumbed 
to  a  widow  and  a  select  hotel! 

Such  a  distrust  had  Chester  conceived  of  the 
suave  flunkey  that  he  was  disposed  to  doubt 
that  his  letter  had  been  forwarded.  He  could 
not  banish  the  memory  of  Renalls.  He  wrote  two 
letters.  One  was  to  his  old  servant  congratulating 
him  on  his  lot  in  life  and  asking  that  the  enclosed 
letter  be  given  to  Miss  Norah  Ellis  if  she  were 
at  the  hotel.  To  Norah  he  wrote  a  letter  which 
still  had  some  ring  of  tender  reproach  in  it,  beg- 
ging for  word  of  her.  He  was  impetuous  to  a 
degree  which  allowed  him  to  forget  that  letters 
from  the  Pearl  of  the  Caribbean  take  many  days 
to  arrive. 

Renalls  was  already  on  his  way  South  when 
Chester's  letter  was  mailed.  He  found  the  girl 
much  better.  The  milder  climate,  the  balmier 
air  and  brighter  skies  had  brought  back  the  color 


WAR  DECLARED  337 

to  her  cheeks  and  endowed  her  with  new  energy. 
She  was  of  a  disposition  which  craved  for  the  sun 
and  warmth  of  the  South  but  she  chafed  under 
the  knowledge  that  three  more  weeks  must  elapse 
before  she  could  store  up  enough  energy  to  carry 
her  through  the  rigors  of  a  northern  winter.  She 
rather  dreaded  Renalls'  visit  but  it  promised  her 
relief  from  the  boredom  inflicted  on  her  by  Mrs. 
Godfrey.  She  noted  with  gratitude  that  he  had 
brought  a  violin.  She  was  in  a  mood  for  music; 
and  under  its  influence  the  financier  allowed  his 
gentler  side  to  be  seen. 

He  played  with  especial  brilliancy  when,  after 
dinner,  music  was  suggested.  He  began  with 
Dvorak's  Humoreske,  a  work  he  had  heard  played 
within  the  week  by  such  artists  as  Mischa  Elman 
and  Fritz  Kreisler.  He  had  never  played  it  so 
well.  Usually  his  playing  was  cold  and  unimpas- 
sioned  but  tonight  there  was  something  of  the 
Austrian  virtuoso's  heart  and  tenderness  in  it. 

His  accompanist  heard  the  new  note  in  it  and 
wondered.  He  finished  by  playing  the  Devil's 
Trill,  that  fantastic,  strange  piece  which  the  master 
of  evil  played  in  one  of  Tartini's  dreams. 

"  You  never  played  more  brilliantly,"  the  girl 
said,  as  he  put  his  instrument  away. 


338  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I  always  play  well  when  I'm  winning,"  he 
said  with  a  slow  smile. 

"  Winning  what?  "  she  demanded. 

"  You,  Norah,"  he  returned,  softly. 

"  My  dear  Charlie,"  she  retorted  with  a  touch 
of  impatience,  "why  begin  that  all  over  again.? 
You  are  not  winning  me.    I'm  not  to  be  won." 

"  'A  woman  —  therefore  to  be  won,'  "  hequoted. 
He  looked  at  her  keenly,  "  Unless,  of  course, 
someone  else  has  already  won  you." 

She  colored.  "  My  affairs  are  my  own  concern," 
she  said,  coldly. 

"  And  mine,  too,"  he  said.  "  So  long  as  you  are 
free,  I  shall  think  of  them  as  mine." 

"  Even  if  I  tell  you  you  have  no  right.''  " 

"  You  can't  tell  me  that,"  he  returned,  watching 
her  expression.  Chester's  letter,  burned  Into  his 
brain,  was  even  now  in  his  pocket.  It  was  like 
reading  a  book  to  which  he  had  the  key.  The  girl 
had  dreaded  some  such  scene  as  this.  He  had 
often  declared  that  when  thwarted  he  was  with- 
out mercy.  But  it  seemed  a  pitiful  thing  to  have 
to  evade  answering  him,  to  seem  ashamed  of  the 
glory  that  had  come  to  her. 

"  I  can  tell  you  that,"  she  answered.  "  You 
have  no  right." 


m  .it  4  \ 

"  Don't  let  us  quarrel"  she  pleaded.    Page  jjp. 


WAR  DECLARED  339 

"  What  is  his  name?  "  the  man  demanded.  He 
was  amused  at  having  her  at  a  disadvantage,  of 
knowing  certainly  what  she  would  tell  him.  The 
black  rage  which  had  possessed  him  on  reading 
Chester's  letter  had,  hy  this  time,  crystallized 
into  an  emotion  better  under  control. 

"  Have  you  thought  what  a  gross  impertinence 
such  a  question  is?  "  she  asked. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  If  you  are  ashamed 
of  it,"  he  began. 

She  interrupted  him.  "  I'm  not,"  she  cried 
proudly. 

"  It  looks  like  it,"  he  commented.  "  Here  am  I, 
an  old  friend  and  the  man  who  offers  you  his 
name  and  fortune.  I'm  not  a  stranger.  Don't 
you  think  the  least  you  can  do  is  to  tell  me  the 
name  of  the  man  who  has  been  successful  where  I 
failed  ? "  She  saw  before  her  only  the  kindly 
Renalls,  who  had  indeed  proffered  name  and  for- 
tune and  had  been  her  faithful  friend;  her  anger 
died  away.  "  Don't  let  us  quarrel,"  she 
pleaded. 

"  Who  is  he? "  the  other  demanded,  still  with- 
out passion. 

"  It's  Mr.  Vincent,"  she  returned.  "  You 
met  him  at  the  little  dance." 


340  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Do  you  seriously  suppose  I  am  going  to  con- 
gratulate you?  "  he  demanded. 

"  Why  not?  "  she  cried.  "  Aren't  you  big  enough 
to  forgive  another  man?  " 

"  A  man  —  yes,"  he  retorted,  "  but  not  a  man 
like  that." 

Her  sympathy  for  him  vanished;  she  was  no 
longer  nervous  but  cool  and  self-possessed,  ready 
to  fight,  with  as  ruthless  a  manner  as  his  own, 
for  the  honor  of  the  man  she  loved. 

"  And  why  not?  "  she  asked  steadily. 

"  Norah,"  he  returned,  "  if  I  can't  get  you  I 
should  like  the  winner  to  be  someone  better  than 
this  man  Vincent.  What  do  you  know  about 
him?" 

"  These  things  are  not  measured  by  years," 
she  said. 

"  They  should  be  measured  by  common  sense. 
I  don't  doubt  your  loyalty  but  I  do  doubt  your 
previous  knowledge  of  him.  I  have  evidence 
to  prove  that  he  is  a  common  swindler  recently 
imprisoned  for  beating  hotels  in  the  regular 
manner." 

"  Do  you  think  I  believe  it?  "  she  said. 

"  I'm  sure  you  don't,"  he  retorted.  "  Later  on 
you'll  have  to;  I  shall  furnish  you  with  the  proofs. 


WAR  DECLARED  341 

You  think  my  jealousy  Is  making  me  take  his 
character  away.  Well,  I'll  admit  my  jealousy, 
but  my  evidence  is  from  the  magistrate's  court. 
You  can  see  for  yourself.  I  placed  him  where 
he  belonged  the  first  time  I  saw  him.  That  sort 
makes  a  hit  with  you  women  because  they've 
got  the  devil's  own  nerve  and  can  pirouette  like 
dancing  masters  and  ride  like  Durland's  instruct- 
ors. They've  got  to  make  these  points  when  they 
are  playing  with  honest  men  and  then  they  always 
lose." 

She  yawned  delicately,  "  Your  detective  ex- 
ploits must  have  taken  up  a  great  deal  of  your 
time,"  she  said. 

He  flushed  a  little.  "  I  suppose  you  won't 
believe  they  were  undertaken  for  your  benefit.''  " 

She  shook  her  head  and  smiled.  "  It  would  be 
unbelievable,"  she  said. 

"  He'll  lose  the  last  rubber,"  Renalls  snapped. 

"  Then  he'll  lose  it  well,"  she  cried. 

"  I'll  admit  that,"  Renalls  returned.  "  He'll 
carry  it  off  with  a  high  hand  and  bluff  some  fools 
into  thinking  he's  the  winner,  but  he  won't  fool 
me,  and  he'll  lose  you,  Norah."  He  leaned  for- 
ward and  spoke  more  slowly,  with  studied  de- 
liberation.   "  He's    after   your   money,    and   he'll 


342  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

drop  you  directly  he  hears  you  are  on  the  losing 
side." 

"  But  I'm  not,"  she  told  him,  "  I'm  winning." 

"  That's  as  it  may  be,"  he  answered  enigmat- 
ically, "  the  point  is  the  man  is  worthless  and  you 
ought  to  have  enough  sense  to  see  it." 

"  Do  you  think  I  am  altogether  a  fool  .'*  "  she 
demanded. 

"  There's  'not  a  woman  of  you,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  who  can't  be  led  away  by  just  such  a  man  as  he. 
It  makes  heroines  of  some  but  it  makes  martyrs 
of  most  and  you  are  the  kind  who'll  find  life  has 
a  bitter  taste." 

She  looked  at  him  with  a  certain  pity.  Not  for 
one  moment  had  any  doubt  of  Chester's  good  faith 
entered  her  mind.  She  saw  in  Renalls'  attitude 
the  unscrupulous  methods  of  the  vindictive 
loser. 

"  I  wish  you  would  realize,"  she  said,  "  that 
you  are  not  serving  your  cause  by  talking  like 
this.  If  you  choose  to  quarrel,  I  shall  be  sorry, 
but  I  had  long  ago  recognized  it  as  inevitable." 

"  And  why.''  "  he  ejaculated. 

"  To  be  frank,"  she  returned,  "  my  fiance  has 
no  greater  liking  for  you  than  you  seem  to  have 
for  him." 


WAR  DECLARED  343 

Renalls  showed  his  teeth,  "  He's  afraid  of  me," 
he  said. 

"  You  can't  make  me  take  you  seriously,"  she 
replied.  "  This  attitude  on  your  part  is  merely 
ridiculous.  You  see,  Charlie,  I  love  him,  and  if 
a  woman  does  that  nothing  else  much  matters,  and 
I'm  not  going  to  be  a  heroine  or  a  martyr  or  a 
woman  with  a  bitter  taste  in  her  mouth,  but  just 
an  ordinary,  happy,  contented  sort  of  person." 

"  I  came  here,"  Renalls  said,  after  a  pause, 
"  to  offer  you  the  opportunity  to  send  him  away 
and  learn  his  true  character.  I  shouldn't  stand 
a  better  chance  with  you  now,  if  you  did  that, 
but  it  might  be  different  later  on,  because  I  can 
play  a  waiting  game.  For  the  last  time,  will 
you  investigate  his  past  life.''  " 

She  looked  at  him  with  a  smile.  "  I  will  not," 
she  said. 

"  Then  it  must  be  war  between  you  and  me," 
he  cried. 

"  Very  well,"  she  agreed,  "  I  am  not  afraid." 

"  Do  you  understand  what  such  a  declaration 
means }  "  he  demanded.  "  Have  you  thought 
how  it's  going  to  affect  your  business  interests.'*  " 

"  The  prospect  doesn't  worry  me  in  the  least," 
she  returned  idly. 


344  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Then  you  haven't  thought  of  it,"  he  said 
grimly.  "  I'll  make  it  clear.  Since  old  Cosway 
died  you've  had  no  one  to  restrain  you  from  pour- 
ing out  your  money  in  Brazil.  You're  now  be- 
ginning to  be  pinched  again.  I  know  your  business 
better  than  you  do  and  if  your  venture  isn't  sub- 
scribed to  by  the  public,  you'll  have  to  try  to 
earn  a  living.  Norah,  do  you  know  what  sort  of 
influence  I  wield  in  New  York.^*  It's  a  big  thing 
and  I'm  at  peace  with  the  men  who  control  what 
I  don't.  If  they  help  you,  they  will  be  throwing 
down  the  gauntlet  to  me,  and  it  isn't  worth  it." 
He  repeated  the  words  to  give  them  emphasis, 
"  It  isn't  worth  it,  I  tell  you.  I  can  wreck  your 
North  Brazil  Goldfields.  You've  never  had  an 
enemy  before  who  bothered  about  it." 

She  grew  restive  under  his  steady  stare  and 
triumphant  manner. 

"  But  why  should  you  be  my  enemy  ? "  she 
asked. 

"  Because  you  won't  guard  yourself  against 
an  unprincipled  adventurer." 

"  Let  us  leave  his  name  out  of  it,"  she  said. 
"  This  is  a  matter  of  business  not  concerning  him. 
Why  should  you,  to  whom  I  owe  so  much,  want  to 
bring  all  your  might  to  crush  me.''  " 


WAR  DECLARED  345 

"  Because  I  want  you,"  he  cried,  "  and  if  I 
can't  have  you  when  you  are  successful,  I'll  have 
you  when  you  are  in  the  dust  and  there  isn't 
a  friend  of  them  all  left  to  you."  He  bent  for- 
ward.   "  Do  you  suppose  he  will  be  there,  then  ?  " 

There  was  menace  in  his  tone  and  a  something 
which  frightened  her  but  she  only  smiled  pity- 
ingly in  return.  "  If  I  am  in  the  dust  and  my 
friends  desert  me,  I  shall  not  be  alone." 

He  sighed  impatiently,  that  her  splendid  faith 
and  courage  should  be  wasted  on  an  object  he 
fully  believed  to  be  worthless. 

"  Admit  for  a  moment,"  he  urged,  "  that  I 
am  right  and  they  all  leave  you." 

"  There'll  be  nothing  of  me  worth  having," 
she  said  simply, 

"  Norah,  my  dear,"  he  said,  "  I'll  take  you.  In 
that  dark  hour  that  must  come  I'll  take  you  and 
worship  you  and  I'll  make  you  happy.  Why 
defy  me .?  " 

*'  It's  not  defiance,"  she  returned,  "  it's  the 
absolute  certainty  I  have  that  you  are  wrong." 

"  Very  well,"  he  said,  "  we  are  to  fight.  That's 
agreed.  If  you  run  against  me  in  my  own  field 
you  can't  win.  I  see  dire  failure  before  you.  I 
want  you  to  listen  to  me  carefully.     When  you 


346  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

fail,  when  your  dark  hour  comes  and  you  have 
no  money  and  no  friends  and  he's  taken  himself 
off,  I  will  come." 

She  spoke  impatiently.  "  You  haven't  the 
power  to  frighten  me." 

"  But  you're  afraid  to  admit  it  might  happen. 
Norah,  if  he  deserts  you,  will  you  forgive  me  for 
the  wounds  of  battle  and  take  me.''  " 

"  If  he  deserts  mel  "  she  repeated.  "  Charlie, 
you  must  be  mad!  " 

"  But  if  he  does,"  Renalls  demanded,  "  shall 
I  have  a  chance.''  " 

She  did  not  answer  the  question.  "  I'd  much 
rather  have  you  as  a  friend,"  she  said  wistfully. 

He  shook  his  head.  "  Impossible.  Remember, 
I'm  your  enemy  now  and  I  shall  fight  any  way  I 
can."  He  looked  at  her  with  open  admiration. 
"  You're  worth  fighting  for,  Norah." 

"  I  have  been  fought  for  and  won,"  she  said 
significantly. 

He  held  out  his  hand.  "  For  the  last  time, 
Norah.  I  don't  shake  hands  or  dine  with  foes. 
I'll  return  when  it's  all  over." 

"  Very  well,"  she  said,  "  it's  to  be  a  fight  then 
—  a  fair  fight." 

"  I   said   nothing   about  fairness,"   he   replied; 


WAR  DECLARED  347 

"  when  I  fight  it's  to  win  and  I  use  anything  that 
is  handy."  He  paused  for  a  moment.  "  I  saw  a 
play  last  winter  where  two  men  were  fighting. 
One  flicked  the  sword  out  of  the  other  fellow's 
hand  and  then  picked  it  up  and  handed  it  back 
to  keep  on  duelling.  Such  a  fool  thing  I  never 
saw!  I  don't  fight  like  that.  I'm  just  warning 
you." 

Renalls  walked  back  to  his  hotel,  already 
planning  his  attack.  Before  his  boat  sailed  he 
called  upon  Mrs.  Godfrey.  "  I  wanted  to  see  you 
particularly,"  he  said.  She  was  a  little  nervous; 
against  his  advice  she  had  plunged  into  Readings 
at  the  wrong  moment  and  was  fearful  lest  he 
should  rebuke  her  and  refuse  to  advise  her  in 
future  operations.  But  he  did  nothing  of  the  kind. 
From  his  pocket  he  took  an  envelope  addressed 
in  bold,  flowing  handwriting  to  Miss  Norah  Ellis. 
"  Should  you  remember  that  writing  again.''"  he 
demanded. 

"  Easily,"  she  responded.    "  Why.?  " 

"  It  is  the  handwriting  of  the  crook  who  passes 
as  Richard  Vincent  and  is  after  Norah's  money." 

He  elaborated  in  a  highly  colored  manner  what 
of  Vincent's  doings  he  had  learned  from  the  re- 
porter and  soon  brought  his  hearer  to  the  verge 


348  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

of  hysteria.  That  she,  Alice  Godfrey,  had  en- 
tertained in  her  house  a  common  swindler  and 
that  he  was  engaged  to  Norah  was  almost  incredi- 
ble and  wholly  horrifying.  *'  What  must  be 
done  ?  "  she  cried. 

"  We  must,"  returned  Renalls,  craftily,  "  pro- 
tect her  against  herself.  If  letters  from  him  come 
here,  I  should  suggest  that  they  be  burned  un- 
read." 

Mrs.  Godfrey  virtuously  declared  that  it  would 
be  beneath  her  to  open  any  letters  addressed  to 
others.  The  ethical  difference  between  that  and 
merely  destroying  them  seemed  to  her  very 
marked. 

Renalls  left  her  well  content.  He  had  no- 
ticed a  growing  jealousy  between  the  widow  and 
her  cousin  and  he  was  sure  that  Norah's  fortune 
was  coveted  more  than  her  company.  He  had 
pointed  out  that  if  she  lost  this  fortune  she  would 
be  dependent  on  relatives.  And  more  than  all 
he  had  impressed  upon  her  the  necessity  of  get- 
ting the  mail  before  Norah  did.  This  was  not 
difficult  since  the  girl  had  been  ordered  to  rest 
well  into  the  morning.  If  inquiries  were  insti- 
tuted, Mrs.  Godfrey  could  fall  back  upon  flat 
denial,  which  had  often  helped  her  before. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE    BRIGHTER    SIDE 


"  In  choice  of  instruments,  it  is  better  to  choose  men  of  a  plainer 
sort,  that  are  like  to  do  that  that  is  committed  to  them."  —  Bacon. 

THERE  are  men  and  women  who,  forced  by 
circumstances,  come  to  middle  age  with 
never  an  opportunity  to  display  their 
kindness  of  heart  and  innate  sympathy  with 
lovers  in  distress.  It  was  so  with  Mrs.  Valentine 
Meadows.  She  had  served  three  mistresses  faith- 
fully but  they  had  not  been  employers  capable 
of  stirring  romantic  regard.  They  had,  in  fact, 
dispelled  many  of  her  dreams,  but  she  still  re- 
garded the  world  in  a  kindly  light.  Meadows, 
bald,  respectable  and  with  a  goodly  sum  saved, 
was  not  in  the  least  like  the  knightly  figure  which 
as  a  girl  she  had  thought  upon,  but  he  had  a 
true  heart  and  she  was  very  happy. 

This  conjunction  of  loving  hearts,  hungering, 
for  some  object  upon  which  to  lavish  affection, 
found  it  in  the  furtherance  of  Richard  Chester's 
romance.  Meadows  had  been  overjoyed  to  receive 
the  letter  from  his  old  employer  and  had  pondered 


350  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

much  as  to  why  he  was  to  be  known  in  future 
as  Richard  Vincent.  He  took  the  letter  straight- 
way to  the  apartment  occupied  by  Mrs.  Godfrey 
and  her  cousin  and  met  the  former  coming  along 
the  corridor.  "  Will  you  please  give  this  to  Miss 
Ellis  .^"  he  said  and  thought  his  errand  well  ac- 
complished. Not  yet  telling  his  wife  of  Chester's 
note,  he  led  the  conversation  to  Miss  Ellis. 

Mrs.  Meadows,  it  must  be  remembered,  was 
incurably  romantic.  "  Poor  young  lady,"  she 
observed,  "  she  looks  to  me  as  though  she  was 
pining  for  someone  who  wasn't  here." 

Her  husband  regarded  her  with  pride.  This 
remarkable  woman  had  put  her  finger  on  the  spot 
instantly,  intuitively,  admirably.  She  looked  at 
him  a  moment  later.  "  It  couldn't  be  the  air 
here,"  she  asserted. 

"  Oh  no,"  he  agreed.  It  was  an  article  of  faith 
with  them  that  there  existed  no  ailment  that  could 
not  be  cured  by  the  climate  of  Constant  Springs. 
Meadows  hugged  to  himself  the  pleasurable  be- 
lief that  the  note  he  took  might  banish  this 
look  his  wife  observed.  Mysteriously  he  took 
Vincent's  letter  from  his  pocket  and  handed  it 
to  his  helpmeet.  "  Not  a  word,"  he  said.  "  Abso- 
lutely private  between  us  three*" 


THE  BRIGHTER  SIDE  351 

The  next  day  he  saw  Norah  and  hoped  that 
she  looked  brighter.  He  made  bold  to  speak  to 
her.  "  I  hope  you  got  the  letter,  madam,"  he 
said.  She  looked  at  him  eagerly.  That  she  had 
received  no  communication  from  Chester  weighed 
on  her.  Meadows  saw  her  face  brighten.  "  What 
letter.'*  "  she  demanded. 

"  Yesterday  afternoon  I  brought  a  letter,"  he 
said. 

"  From  whom-f*  "  she  cried,  "  I  got  none." 

Fortunately  for  the  lovers  Meadows  possessed 
a  certain  cautiousness  of  disposition  which  had 
before  rescued  him  from  the  predicaments  into 
which  men  of  lively  sympathy  may  fall.  He  felt 
with  a  certainty  not  to  be  doubted  that  he  had 
hit  upon  some  underhanded  plot  aimed  at  his 
Richard  Chester  and  this  adorable  young  lady. 
To  tell  her  suddenly  might  precipitate  matters 
unduly.  He  felt  in  need  of  feminine  counsel 
but  in  lieu  of  it  an  inspiration  was  born  which  he 
afterwards  considered  as  genius. 

"  Are  you  not  Mrs.  Godfrey.''  "  he  demanded. 

The  light  left  her  eyes.  "  I  am  Miss  Ellis," 
she  sighed. 

The  excellent  Mrs.  Meadows  listened  eagerly. 
"  It's   my  belief,  there's  a  plot,"  she  said.     "  I 


352  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

don't  like  Mrs.  Godfrey  and  I  don't  like  that  Mr. 
Renalls.  It's  my  conviction  he's  in  love  with 
Miss  Ellis.  You  must  write  to  your  Mr.  Chester 
and  tell  him  everything."  Meadows  accordingly 
indited  a  long  letter  to  Chester,  not  without  the 
feeling  that  he  was  taking  a  liberty,  and  breathed 
a  prayer  that  some  beneficent  being  would  watch 
over  it  as  it  winged  its  way  northward. 

Mrs.  Meadows  made  a  point  of  going  in  the 
sitting  room  shared  by  Norah  and  her  cousin  but 
usually  found  the  two  together.  On  one  of  the 
occasions  when  Mrs.  Godfrey  was  out  she  came 
in  for  some  purpose  in  itself  an  excuse  and  looked 
closely  at  the  girl.  Mrs.  Meadows  noted  the 
weariness  apparent  on  the  exquisite  face.  It 
was  of  Chester  she  was  thinking.  His  friend, 
young  and  vigorous,  had  been  ground  under  the 
wheels  of  a  surface  car  and  wiped  out  of  existence. 
And  if  some  such  accident  had  happened  to  her 
Richard  what  chance  had  she  of  learning  it?  She 
sighed  heavily  and  Mrs.  Meadows  could  stand 
silent  no  longer. 

"  Ah,  miss,"  she  declared  darkly,  "  if  we  saw 
all  the  people  we  want  to  see  and  had  all  the  let- 
ters we  long  for,  how  much  happier  we  should  be!  " 

"  Yes,"    said    the   other   slowly,    "  how    much 


THE  BRIGHTER  SIDE  353 

happier  we  should  be!  "  Then  she  turned  to  the 
woman  in  astonishment.  For  a  moment  she  had 
not  thought  the  remark  strange,  it  fitted  in  with 
her  thoughts  so  well,  but  now  she  recognized  it 
as  very  odd.  "  Why  do  you  say  that.?  "  she  de- 
manded. 

"  Those  who  have  hearts,  see."  In  the  secrecy 
of  the  hotel  office  she  confided  in  her  husband. 
"  She's  breaking  her  heart  for  him,"  she  declared. 

"  But  I  don't  see  that  we  can  do  anything,"  her 
husband  said. 

"  If  Mr.  Chester's  the  man  you  paint  him  I 
think  he'll  come  right  away  on  receipt  of  your 
letter,"   she  said. 

"  Suppose  he  hasn't  the  money.'' "  Meadows 
hazarded. 

"  We  could  send  it,"  she  returned  promptly. 

The  man  shook  his  head.  "  He's  as  proud,"  he 
said,  striving  for  an  apt  simile,  "  he's  as  proud 
as  I  should  be  if  I  were  a  gentleman." 

"  You  are  a  gentleman,"  flared  his  wife. 

"  Yes,  my  dear,"  Meadows  returned  humbly, 
"  but  I  wasn't  born  to  it." 

The  days  passed  as  slowly  to  the  Meadows  as 
to  Norah.  The  two  old  people  were  on  the  tiptoe 
of  expectation  when  the  train  came  in  which  con- 


354  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

nected  with  Kingston  and  the  New  York  boat. 
Meadows  stared  out  of  the  porch  pale  with  ex- 
citement. "  My  dear,"  he  said  with  shaky  voice, 
*'  it's  him.  It's  Mr.  Richard."  There  was  affec- 
tion in  his  tone.  "  It's  my  Mr.  Richard."  He 
noted  quickly  that  there  was  no  trace  of  poverty 
in  his  former  employer.  He  was  as  well  dressed 
as  ever.  "  He's  made  good,"  muttered  the  ex- 
valet,  proudly  ushering  him  into  his  private  room. 
Mrs.  Meadows  purred  about  him  in  an  ecstasy 
of  pleasure.  It  was  the  first  time  she  had 
ever  assisted  first  hand  at  a  meeting  of  parted 
lovers. 

"  She's  just  pining  for  you,  sir,"  she  declared. 
"  I  never  saw  such  a  lovely  young  lady  in  all  my 
born  days.  It's  a  wicked  world!  "  she  concluded 
fiercely. 

"  When  can  I  see  her?  "   he  demanded. 

"  Now,"  that  excellent  creature  declared. 
"  There  goes  Mrs.  Godfrey.  She'll  be  taking 
a  walk  about  now  and  Miss  Ellis  will  be 
alone." 

"  Mrs.  Meadows,"  Chester  said,  "  you  have  a 
heart  of  gold  and  so  has  your  husband.  Will 
you  take  me  to  her.-*  " 

When  she  returned  to  her  husband  a  few  minutes 


THE  BRIGHTER  SIDE  355 

later  there  were  tears  in  her  eyes.  "  Oh,  if  you 
could  have  seen  her  face!  "  she  cried.  "  They  just 
stood  there  for  a  moment  looking  at  each  other 
and  then  he  took  her  in  his  arms.  They  didn't 
remember  I  was  there  and  they  didn't  hear  me 
shut  the  door.  For  all  they  knew,"  Mrs.  Meadows 
concluded  with  perfect  saticfaction,  "  I  might 
have  belonged  to  the  planet  Mars  and  gone  back 
home  again." 

When  the  first  greetings  between  the  lovers 
were  over  Norah  looked  at  him  with  satisfaction. 
"  How  well  you  look,"  she  cried,  "  and  how 
prosperous." 

"  I  am,"  he  laughed,  and  took  from  his  pocket 
a  little  package.  It  was  a  big  sapphire  ring.  He 
knew  it  was  her  favorite  stone.  "  It  is  the  color 
of  your  eyes,"  he  said. 

"  Dick,  how  adorable  of  you,"  she  exclaimed. 
"  But  what  a  beauty!  How  on  earth  have  you 
managed  it.?  " 

"  You've  brought  me  luck,"  he  laughed.  "  I'm 
a  prosperous  seller  of  high  grade  printing."  He 
told  her  of  the  Beau  Site  order.  "  And  the  day 
before  I  sailed  two  more  orders  came  in  just  on 
account  of  that  wonderful  booklet." 

She  grew  serious  when  he  told  her  of  the  letter 


356  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Meadows  delivered  to  Mrs.  Godfrey.  At  first 
she  could  not  credit  the  treachery.  "  What  will 
you  do.?  "  he  inquired. 

"  I  must  ask  what  she  meant.  There  can't 
be  any  excuse."  She  sighed.  "  I  shall  have  to 
give  up  living  here.  I  shall  miss  those  darling 
children,  but  that  Alice  should  behave  so,  makes 
it  impossible  that  I  should  remain  her  friend. 
She  might  have  separated  us  forever,  Dick."  She 
shivered.  "  I  can't  bear  to  think  of  it!  She  had 
better  not  see  you  here.  I'll  send  for  you  as  soon 
as  I've  had  it  out  with  her.  I'm  sure  the  first 
sight  of  my  ring  will  tell  her  what's  coming. 
Kiss  me,  Dick,  and  then  be  where  I  can  send  for 
you.  I'm  afraid  to  let  you  see  how  furious  I  can 
be." 

An  hour  later  Mrs.  Meadows  informed  him  that 
Mrs.  Godfrey  was  leaving  for  Kingston  and  that 
Miss  Ellis  was  to  remain.  He  watched  from  the 
Meadows  sitting  room  and  presently  beheld 
Mrs.  Godfrey,  bereft  of  her  usual  self-complacence, 
drive  away.  Then  a  message  came  to  him  from 
Norah. 

"  It's  over  then.''  "  he  said. 

"  Such  puerile,  silly  excuses,"  the  girl  retorted. 
"  That  you  were  a  bad  wicked  fortune  hunter  and 


THE  BRIGHTER  SIDE  357 

she  looked  upon  me  as  her  young  cousin  in 
need  of  protection.  She  said  she  burned  the 
letter." 

"  She  must  have  burned  two,"  he  said.  "  But 
what  direct  charge  did  she  make  against  me?  " 

"  They  were  too  absurd  even  to  remember," 
she  returned.  "  I  don't  believe  in  them  and  I 
sha'n't  repeat  them." 

"  Do  so  as  a  favor,"  he  begged.  "  If  you  don't 
I  shall  think  you  fear  I  am  unable  to  clear  my- 
self. I'm  grateful  for  your  generosity,  dear,  but 
I  want  to  explain  things  so  there's  never  a  doubt 
about  it."  He  listened  to  her  brief  description  of 
his  incarceration  in  a  police  cell. 

"  Perfectly  true,"  he  admitted,  "  but  hear  my 
side  of  it  too." 

The  week  that  followed  was  one  of  the  most 
perfect  of  their  lives.  Like  happy  children  they 
explored  the  beautiful  island  and  the  color  came 
back  into  her  cheeks  and  the  brightness  into  her 
eyes,  and  over  the  twain  the  Meadows  busied 
themselves  with  affectionate  solicitations. 

It  was  during  this  time  that  Norah  unfolded 
her  hopes  for  the  future  of  her  Brazilian  mines 
and  told  him  in  detail  of  her  struggles  and  the 
imminent  success,  and  that  the  mining  man  to 


358  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

whom  she  wished  to  commend  him  was  Mendoza, 
her  partner.  *'  So  you  see  my  wilful,  obstinate 
proud  Richard,  that  your  wife  will  need  you. 
Every  moment  you  spent  in  those  musty  old 
libraries  was  spent  for  me." 

He  looked  at  her  a  little  doubtfully.  "  I  don't 
want  to  be  a  mere  passenger,"  he  objected. 

"  You  shall  be  captain  and  owner  and  first 
mate,"  she  cried,  "  unless  you  wish  me  to  adver- 
tise for  someone." 

"  It  isn't  that,"  he  said  earnestly.  "  It's  a  feel- 
ing that  I  sha'n't  be  worthy  of  it  all.  I'm  willing 
to  work  like  twenty  men  but  I've  found  out 
lately  that  I  know  very  little." 

"  I  need  you,"  she  told  him  gaily;  she  had  never 
been  in  more  radiantly  high  spirits.  "  I  need 
you  more  than  ever  now  because  Charlie  Renalls 
has  made  an  open  declaration  of  war." 

"When.?  "he  cried. 

"  In  this  very  room  a  few  days  ago.  I  am  to 
be  brought  down  to  the  dust,  —  he  harped  con- 
tinually about  this  dust  by  the  way  —  you  who 
are  only  pursuing  me  for  mere  money,  will  in- 
stantly desert  me.  Along  comes  King  Cophetua 
Renalls  and  raises  me  from  the  mire  to  share  the 
house  he  is  building  on  Riverside  Drive.     He  ar- 


THE  BRIGHTER  SIDE  359 

ranged  the  whole  thing  and  you'll  admit  that  he 
isn't  one  to  talk  idly." 

Chester  looked  more  disturbed  than  the  girl. 
"  No,"  he  agreed,  "  Renalls  isn't  an  idle  boaster 
as  a  rule." 

"  Wherefore  you  perceive  my  need,"  she  said, 
"  and  if  you  talk  any  more  nonsense  about  carv- 
ing out  a  separate  career  while  I  am  being  des- 
troyed by  mine  enemy  I  shall  think  you  aren't 
in  the  least  like  the  other  Richard  they  called 
Coeur  de  Lion." 

"  You've  put  things  in  a  totally  different  light," 
he  said.  "  Before,  when  I  thought  I  should  be 
just  useless,  I  felt  I  shouldn't  be  a  man  if  I  didn't 
try  and  make  good  alone.  But  if  Renalls  has 
threatened  you  and  I  am  earning  enough  money  to 
get  proper  training  in  assaying  and  the  rest  of  it 
so  that  I  can  be  worth  something,  why,  you  won't 
find  me  proud.  I  rather  like  the  idea  of  a  fight 
with  Renalls." 

"  I'm  afraid  you've  quite  a  wicked  temper," 
she  laughed. 

"  I  detest  him,"  Chester  admitted  frankly.  "  I 
never  felt  a  man's  hate  more  than  his.  When  I 
first  met  him  he  looked  at  me  and  I  could  feel 
that  he  hated  me.     I  don't  wonder  he  hates  me. 


360  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

If  he  had  got  engaged  to  a  fascinating  enchantress 
with  sapphire  eyes  and  hair  like  imprisoned  sun- 
shine I  should  have  blackjacked  him  some  dark 
night." 

"  You're  not  a  business  man,"  the  girl  declared, 
looking  up  at  him.  "  You  ought  to  be  giving 
serious  thought  how  to  circumvent  him  instead 
of  talking  in  this  absurd  way." 

"  I  am  not  a  man  of  business  at  the  present 
moment,"  he  replied,  "  I  am  in  spirit  a  knight 
errant.  I  should  have  enjoyed  that  life,"  he  said 
reflectively.  "  I  know  exactly  how  they  felt  when 
they  got  into  their  armor  and  made  all  the  other 
knights  or  villains  they  met  admit  that  their 
lady  was  the  peerless  damsel." 

"  I  can  quite  imagine  you  to  be  a  very  over- 
bearing character,"  she  said.  "  I  fear  Mr.  Mead- 
ows can't  be  genuine  when  he  talks  out  in  that 
extravagant  way." 

"  Has  Meadows  been  talking.''  "  he  demanded. 

"  And  Mrs.  Meadows  too,"  she  declared.  "  I 
have  your  every  characteristic  expounded  by 
them.  You  are  the  one  man  who  is  a  hero  to 
his  valet!"  She  looked  at  him  with  a  smile.  "  I 
am  getting  horridly  proud  of  you." 

"  If  you  knew  how  unworthy  I   am  of  you," 


THE  BRIGHTER  SIDE  361 

he  said  penitently,  "  you  wouldn't  feel  proud." 
He  shook  his  head.  "  Meadows  makes  far  too 
much  of  it.  He  doesn't  tell  of  the  innumerable 
times  I  have  cursed  him  for  my  own  faults  and 
called  maledictions  on  his  innocent  soul,  when 
it's  been  my  own  doing  all  the  time.  Dear  old 
Meadows!  Well,  I  shall  leave  you  in  their  care 
without  fear." 

She  sighed.     "  And  you  must  go  tomorrow .f'  " 

"  I  only  had  a  week's  leave,"  he  told  her, 
"  exclusive  of  the  time  taken  by  the  journey,  and 
I  have  several  what  I  call  prospects  looking  for 
my  coming.  I  tell  you,  Norah,  it's  different  from 
trying  to  sell  books." 

"  Or  salad  dressing,"  she  laughed.  "  How  do 
you  do  it?  " 

"  Luck,"  he  said  cheerfully.  "  Feeling  happy 
and  looking  prosperous." 

She  was  looking  at  her  engagement  ring. 
"  You're  fearfully  extravagant,  Dick.  I  could 
have  done  with  a  much  simpler  ring  than 
this." 

"  I'll  buy  you  better  ones,"  he  laughed.  "  My 
dear,  I'm  in  for  a  run  of  stupendous  luck.  I  shall 
need  it  when  Renalls  has  made  us  bankrupts. 
And  I  need  it  for  mining  books  and  instruments. 


362  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

When  I'm  your  mine  manager  I  intend  to  be  the 
last  thing  in  expert  mineralogical  knowledge," 
He  laughed  like  a  happy  boy.  "  It's  rather  fun 
earning  one's  own  living." 


CHAPTER  XIX 
JOHN  Chester's  offer 

"  La  pire  des  mesalliances  est  celle  du  ccenr." 

HE  bade  her  good-bye  at  the  Kingston  dock, 
absolutely  confident  of  happier  times 
ahead.  She  loved  him;  she  had  broken 
with  Renalls  and  he  and  she  were  going  to  win. 
It  was  a  good  world  and  a  kind  one  and  he  watched 
the  purple  hills  of  Jamaica  fade  into  the  distance 
as  nearly  perfectly  happy  as  he  had  ever  been  in 
his  life.  He  settled  himself  to  read  the  New  York 
papers  which  he  had  bought  before  sailing.  He 
found  them  full  of  his  brother's  divorce.  John 
Chester  stared  at  him  from  the  pages  of  the  eve- 
ning journals  seemingly  not  a  whit  altered.  He 
read  the  accounts  in  much  perturbation.  Al- 
though he  had  never  met  Mrs.  John  Chester  he 
had  always  heard  that  she  lived  in  amity  with 
her  husband.  There  was  not  a  breath  of  scandal 
against  John  Chester's  name.  He  had  been 
granted  his  case  in  an  undefended  suit  and  the 
papers  were  full  of  his  history,  his  money,  his 


364  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

brilliance  as  a  man  of  affairs.  There  was  in  most 
instances  a  reference  to  Richard.  "  Mr.  Chester," 
he  read,  "  is  the  elder  brother  of  the  Richard 
Chester  who  was  formerly  much  in  the  public 
eye  as  an  owner  of  blue  ribbon  winners.  He  was 
also  an  explorer  of  note  and  the  old  Yale  full-back. 
He  disappeared  from  his  former  associations  about 
a  year  ago  and  is  supposed  to  be  with  an  expedi- 
tion in  Thibet." 

But  he  could  only  think  of  the  terrible  blow  this 
must  be  to  John's  pride.  It  must  have  been  a 
crucifixion  to  find  himself  in  everyone's  mouth 
and  to  be  pitied  for  a  deserted  husband  and  a 
wronged  friend. 

So  soon  as  he  possibly  could  after  landing  in 
New  York  he  went  to  Number  One  Wall  Street 
to  get  the  letter  that  Norah  had  written  and 
posted  after  he  had  left  for  the  West  Indies.  He 
was  passing  through  the  picture  gallery  which 
opens  from  the  platform  when  his  attention  was 
arrested  by  a  painting  of  the  mountains  behind 
Constant  Springs,  where  Norah  had  ridden  with 
him  but  a  week  ago.  So  intent  was  he  that  he 
failed  to  note  that  Charles  Renalls  was  standing 
at  another  easel  just  behind  him.  It  was  while 
these  two  men  were  looking  at  their  separate  can- 


JOHN  CHESTER'S  OFFER       365 

vases  that  Biggs  hurried  by.  He  had  recently 
received  a  raise  in  salary  and  was  not  without 
hope  that  it  might  eventually  be  the  firm  of 
Enderby  and  Biggs.  He  was  not  in  a  mood  to 
respect  the  fallen,  as  he  conceived  Chester  to  be. 
He  slapped  him  on  the  back  with  what  he  felt 
was  a  man-of-the-world  air,  a  careless  manner 
indicative  of  breeding.  "  Hallo,"  said  Biggs, 
"  There  are  letters  for  you  at  the  office.  It's  the 
first  time  she's  written  to  you.  Perhaps  the  lady's 
going  to  stick  to  you  after  all."  Biggs  cocked 
his  hat  at  a  rakish  angle.  "  It's  me  for  single 
blessedness  every  time,"  he  asserted.  "  This 
divorce  nonsense  may  be  fashionable  but  I  don't 
like  it." 

Chester  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  and  from 
his  expression  it  would  seem  that  the  little  man 
before  him  with  the  padded  shoulders  was  a  dis- 
tasteful spectacle,  "  Thanks,"  he  said  briefly  and 
turned  away. 

Biggs  reddened,  and  turning  away,  came  face 
to  face  with  Renalls.  Now  Biggs  had  always  con- 
sidered Renalls  to  be  one  of  the  mighty  men  of  the 
"  Street."  There  was  no  incident  in  his  career 
of  which  he  was  more  proud  than  his  successful 
service  of  the  capitalist  with  a  subpoena.     A  no- 


366  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

toriously  difficult  task,  it  had  been  Biggs'  lot 
when  professional  process  servers  had  failed,  to 
succeed.  And  Renalls,  who  might  just  as  readily 
have  kicked  him  from  the  office,  laughed  at  the 
ingenuity  displayed  and  gave  him  a  good  cigar. 
Even  now  the  financier  occasionally  threw  him  a 
nod,  which  enhanced  his  reputation  in  his  own 
forensic  set.  Biggs  was  not  pleased  that  the  man 
whom  he  esteemed  so  highly  should  have  wit- 
nessed this  snub,  but  he  was  reassured  by  the 
financier's  strange  affability. 

"  So  you  are  acting  for  him  ? "  he  asked,  nod- 
ding after  Chester's  retreating  figure.  Not  a 
word  of  Biggs'  remarks  to  Vincent  had  been  lost. 

"  Yes,"  Biggs  admitted.  He  was  glad  that  a 
clerk  in  another  law  office  passed  at  that  mo- 
ment. "  Enderby  has  turned  his  affairs  over  to 
me. 

Renalls  drew  his  bow  at  a  venture.  "  Look 
here,  Mr.  Biggs,"  he  said,  "  I  don't  want  you  to 
violate  professional  secrets  —  a  man  like  you 
wouldn't  anyway,  even  if  I  did  —  but  I'm  inter- 
ested in  his  case,  just  as  a  lot  of  other  men  are. 
It's  for  divorce,  isn't  it.^  "  His  eyes  were  fixed 
on  Biggs  who  instantly  felt  as  a  small  boy  before 
a  stern  school  teacher. 


JOHN  CHESTER'S  OFFER       367 

"  Yes,"  he  answered  meekly. 

Renalls  turned  to  the  picture  he  had  been  ad- 
miring. "Are  you  a  judge  of  pictures.?"  he 
asked. 

"  Pretty  good,"  returned  Biggs,  feeling  relieved, 
"  but  I  don't  fall  for  these  impressionists."  He 
felt  certain  that  Renalls  approved  his  views. 

"  I'm  in  a  hurry  now,"  said  the  financier,  glan- 
cing at  his  watch,  "  but  I  wanted  to  have  a  little 
business  talk  with  you.  Suppose  you  lunch  with 
me  some  day  next  week  at  the  Players.  I'll  'phone 
you." 

He  hurried  oflF  to  leave  the  managing  clerk 
trembling  with  delight.  He  was  unbearably  ar- 
rogant toward  his  inferiors  for  the  rest  of  the 
day. 

Richard  Chester  had  left  when  he  reached  the 
office,  taking  with  him  two  letters.  One  from  Norah 
and  the  other  In  a  strange  cramped  handwriting, 
that  yet  looked  familiar.  Norah's  was  not  to  be 
opened  in  the  street,  it  was  too  sacred;  but  he 
cut  the  other  envelope  without  hesitation.  The 
signature,  John  F.  Chester,  was  the  first  of  his 
brother's  writing  he  had  seen  for  years.  It  was 
dated  the  day  before  and  bore  the  address  of  a 
great  New  York  hotel. 


368  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Dear  Richard:  "   (it  ran), 

"  I  am  anxious  to  see  you  directly  you  can  ar- 
range to  come.  I  am  ill  or  would  have  sought 
you  out.  Pray  let  no  past  disagreements  prevent 
your  coming  instantly." 

Since  Richard's  business  day  was  already 
planned  out  and  in  his  new  mood  for  hard  work 
he  allowed  nothing  to  stand  in  the  way,  he  post- 
poned his  visit  to  John  until  the  morrow. 

He  was  shown  into  a  great  suite  of  apartments 
overlooking  the  Park,  and  after  a  few  minutes' 
wait  in  an  outer  room  was  ushered  into  a  light 
luxurious  apartment  where  on  a  sofa  his  brother 
lay.  Except  that  he  was  gaunter  and  yellower 
than  he  had  ever  seen  him,  the  younger  brother 
noted  very  little  alteration.  John  Chester  had 
ever  lacked  the  urbanity  which  distinguished 
Richard.  He  did  not  hold  out  his  hand.  Richard 
thought  he  could  detect  the  same  old  sneering 
expression.  John  was  the  first  to  speak.  "  Please 
sit  down,"  he  said.  "  I  am  recommended  to  lie 
down  a  great  deal  or  Iwould  have  cometo  see  you." 

As  Richard  looked  closer  he  perceived  that  the 
other  man  was  much  aged  and  wore  the  looks  of 
suffering. 


JOHN  CHESTER'S  OFFER       369 

"  I'd  no  idea  you  had  been  ill,"  he  said. 

"  I  kept  that  out  of  the  papers,"  John  retorted. 
"  Do  you  suppose  if  my  wife  had  known  that  I 
was  to  be  dead  in  a  year  she  would  have  been  so 
eager  to  get  rid  of  me.''  She'd  have  been  more 
cautious  and  waited  for  her  widow's  portion  in- 
stead of  hurrying  into  a  second  marriage." 

"  You  can't  be  serious,"  cried  Richard.  "  What 
is  the  matter.''  " 

"  Death  is  the  last  thing  I  should  jest  about," 
the  elder  said  quietly.  "  What  I  say  is  true. 
Half  a  dozen  specialists  in  as  many  countries  have 
agreed  that  I  have  cancer  and  that  cancer  is  in- 
curable. They  do  not  all  agree  on  the  amount  of 
life  that  remains  to  me  but  I  have  struck  a 
mean  and  find  myself  with  rather  less  than  a 
year." 

Richard  was  genuinely  shocked  by  these  tidings. 
Although  in  recent  years  there  had  been  nothing 
in  common  between  them,  the  love  which  had 
come  into  his  life  gave  him  a  closer  perception  of 
the  sufferings  of  others  and  a  greater  toleration 
for  their  peculiarities.  He  reviewed  mentally 
the  cause  of  their  quarrel.  It  seemed  so  remote 
and  —  he  wondered  if  it  were  treachery  so  to 
regard  it  —  so  trivial. 


370  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  John,"  he  said,  "  I'm  terribly  upset  to  hear 
this." 

"  I  did  not  ask  you  to  visit  me  in  order  to  enlist 
your  sympathy.     I  had  other  reasons." 

Richard  detected  the  note  of  resentment  in  the 
other's  voice.  It  was  plain  that  he  did  not  crave 
for  friendship. 

"What  were  they.^"  Richard  asked,  his  voice 
less  sympathetic. 

"  Since  my  wife  is  married  to  someone  else  and 
gave  me  no  children,  and  my  illness  precludes 
a  second  marriage,  it  follows  that  you  are  my  heir. 
Did  you  ever  think  of  that?  " 

"  Never  till  this  moment." 

"  The  fact  remains  therefore,"  said  John,  "  that 
you  are  heir  to  the  Chester  estate.  Do  you  know 
what  it  is  worth  .'*  " 

"  I  got  a  million  and  a  half,"  Richard  re- 
sponded. 

"  Less  than  your  share,"  his  brother  retorted. 
"  Our  father  was  not  in  any  sense  a  good  business 
man.  When  he  died  the  estate  was  much  involved. 
I  have  spent  twenty  years  in  straightening  it  out 
and  consolidating  our  interests.  While  we  do 
not  rank  with  the  richest  families  we  have  more 
ready  money  and  money  in  gilt-edged    securities 


JOHN  CHESTER'S  OFFER       371 

than  you  would  believe.     I  shall  leave  not  less 
than  twenty  millions." 

"  That's  news  to  me,"  his  brother  exclaimed. 

"  I've  paid  to  be  kept  out  of  the  papers,"  the 
other  said,  "  just  as  I  imagine  you  must  have 
paid  to  have  all  your  doings  talked  about  a 
few  years  ago." 

"  There  you're  wrong,"  cried  Richard.  "  I 
never  bought  publicity." 

John  Chester  waved  him  down.  "  I'm  not 
really  interested  whether  you  did  or  didn't,"  he 
said.  "  I  want  you  to  understand  that  I  have 
built  up  the  Chester  fortunes  to  a  height  they 
have  never  before  attained.  It  is  to  be  your  task 
to  conserve  them." 

Richard  was  conscious  that  his  brother  regarded 
him  with  the  cold,  impersonal  stare  which  had 
always  irked  him.  Against  his  will  he  felt  rising 
within  him  the  old  antagonism. 

His  brother  spoke  again.  "  Are  you  equal  to 
the  task.?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Richard,  "  I'm  not  at 
all  sure  that  I  am." 

"  A  few  years  ago  you  would  have  said 
'  yes  '  without  a  moment's  hesitation,"  sneered 
John. 


372  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Many  things  may  happen  in  a  year,"  Richard 
reminded  him. 

"  That  may  be,"  returned  John  drily,  "  but 
there's  one  thing  I  want  to  make  perfectly  clear 
to  you.  I  have  sent  for  you  not  because  I  expect 
you  to  bear  me  any  affection,  but  because  you're 
the  last  of  the  Cheaters  and  what  the  Chesters 
have  they  should  hold.  If  there  had  been  another 
brother  I  should  have  sent  for  him  instead.  Do 
I  make  it  clear  .'*  " 

"  Almost  unnecessarily  so,"  Richard  said. 

John  looked  at  him  curiously.  "  Don't  you 
bear  any  malice .?  " 

"  No,"  returned  Chester  slowly.  "  I  did  once 
but  that's  done  with." 

"  Why.?  "  snapped  the  invalid. 

"  I  don't  think  I've  ever  been  the  hater 
you  were,"  the  younger  man  answered,  "  and 
—  well,  John,  I'm  engaged  to  be  married 
and  that  wipes  out  the  memory  of  other 
days." 

"Who  is  she.?"  John  demanded.  "What  is 
her  name.?  " 

"  That,  my  dear  John,"  said  Richard  urbanely, 
"  is  something  we  can  discuss  later."  John's  per- 
emptory way  galled  him. 


JOHN  CHESTER'S  OFFER       373 

"  What  are  you  doing  now?  "  was  his  brother's 
next  question. 

"  I  am  preparing  for  the  position  of  mine  man- 
ager." 

"  You  must  drop  that  idea  now,"  John  told  him. 

"  I  think  not,"  said  Richard,  "  in  fact  nothing 
but  death  would  make  me  drop  it." 

"  But  don't  you  understand,"  said  the  other, 
"  that  you  are  to  get  my  money.?  Don't  you 
understand  that  I  shall  want  you  here  to  instruct 
you  how  to  manage  my  interests  till  they  become 
yours.'"'  He  laughed  ironically.  "This  stupid 
mining  scheme  must  be  dropped.  It  will  take  you 
a  good  many  hours  of  the  day  to  get  the  hang  of 
our  New  York  real  estate,  but  that  won't  be  as 
hard  as  this  mining  business." 

"  I'm  used  to  hard  work,"  said  Richard. 

"  It  was  time  you  turned  over  a  new  leaf,"  said 
John. 

"  There  are  few  people  who  can  tell  a  truth  in 
a  more  disagreeable  manner  than  you,"  the  younger 
retorted.    "  It's  done  much  to  make  you  popular." 

"  Come,  come,"  cried  John  with  a  faint  smile, 
"  I'm  not  so  bad  as  I  sound,  Richard.  Remember 
I've  burning  hell  inside  me  and  things  of  late  have 
made  me  irritable.     I  understand  that  all    this 


374  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

must  confuse  you  at  first  but  you'll  see  that  no 
matter  what  you  are  engaged  on  now,  it  must 
be  given  up  instantly." 

"  I'm  afraid  I  see  nothing  of  the  sort,"  Richard 
returned.  "  I've  sworn  to  go  through  with  what 
I'm  doing  and  I  sha'n't  go  back  on  my  word." 

"  I  think  you  will  though,"  John  said  sneer- 
ingly.  "  When  you  stop  to  consider  the  differ- 
ence between  getting  back  to  your  own  life  and  the 
selling  of  printing  you'll  come  off  your  high  horse." 

"  What  do  you  know  about  my  selling  print- 
ing.^ "  Richard  demanded. 

His  brother  pointed  to  a  black  japanned  deed 
box  standing  on  a  table,  "  In  the  top  of  that," 
he  said,  "  is  a  long  blue  envelope.  I  wish  you'd 
get  it  for  me.  Here,"  he  remarked  a  moment 
later,  "  is  a  fairly  reliable  account  of  the  various 
occupations  which  engaged  your  energies  since 
you  parted  with  Meadows  down  to  the  time  you 
started  as  a  salesman  of  printing.  This  document 
is  mostly  from  the  pen  of  a  detective  who  resided 
for  that  purpose  in  your  rooming  house." 

Richard  glared  at  him  angrily.  "  I  consider  it 
a  most  unwarrantable  piece  of  impertinence,"  he 
cried.  "  What  right  had  you  to  pry  into  my  mis- 
eries.?   I  didn't  disgrace  your  name." 


JOHN  CHESTER'S  OFFER       375 

"  It  may  have  been  impertinent,"  John  said 
carelessly,  "  but  I  wanted  to  know  what  my  heir 
was  doing.  I'm  not  sure  that  I  shouldn't  have 
been  glad  If  you  had  disgraced  the  name  you  took; 
in  that  case  I  should  have  made  Doris  my  heiress 
although  Lord  St.  Mabyn  has  plenty  of  Chester 
money   already." 

Richard  paced  up  and  down  the  room  fuming. 
John  watched  him  In  grim  amusement.  "  There 
was  a  gentleman  In  your  lodging  house,"  he  re- 
marked, "  who  complained  bitterly  that  your 
habit  of  eating  in  your  bedroom  brought  the  mice 
to  his.  And  there  was  a  man  who  shovelled  snow 
at  your  side  who  got  double  pay.  He  was  paid 
for  working  and  paid  for  watching.  A  taciturn 
individual  whom  you  angered  exceedingly  by 
your  extraordinary  activity  and  threats  to  work 
the  whole  winter  if  the  snow  obliged." 

Richard  paused  in  his  promenading.  "  Just 
like  you,  John,"  he  cried.  "  By  Jove,  John,  you're 
the  same  genial  kind-hearted  being  as  ever !  Was 
your  spy  ever  as  hungry  or  hopeless  as  your 
brother,  I  wonder.?  " 

John  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  You  brought 
it  on  yourself,"  he  said  carelessly,  "  and  I'm  going 
to  give  you  the  opportunity  to  get  out  of  it." 


376  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  I  am  out  of  it,"  flared  the  young  man,  "  and 
no  thanks  to  you.  I'm  making  money  and  I'm 
happy." 

"  I  shall  ask  for  your  confidences  some  other 
time,"  John  said.  "  At  present  I  am  rather 
fatigued  and  I  want  to  say  concisely  that  you 
must  alter  your  mode  of  life  to  suit  me.  You 
will  have  what  money  you  need.  You  can  take 
up  your  existence  where  you  laid  it  down  after 
that  fatal  card  game." 

Richard  shook  his  head.  "  I'm  afraid  that 
doesn't  make  the  appeal  to  me  it  might  have  done 
six  months  ago.  I've  cut  adrift  from  that  idle  life 
now.  I've  been  in  the  depths  as  you  know.  I've 
tasted  starvation  and  misery  and  I've  come  out 
of  it  a  different  man." 

The  other's  smile  was  full  of  sarcasm.  "  I  see," 
he  said,  "  a  reformed  character,  a  great  and  good 
man." 

"  Not  better  and  not  greater,"  Richard  an- 
swered gently,  "  but  just  different.  I'm  making 
enough  to  live  on;  a  good  woman  is  going  to 
marry  me  and  I'll  be  no  man's  pensioner." 

John  interrupted  him  impatiently.  "  Talk 
sense,"  he  snapped.  "  Come  to  the  point  now 
instead  of  by  degrees.     Of  course  you'll  accept. 


JOHN  CHESTER'S  OFFER       377 

and  I  want  you  plainly  to  understand  my  con- 
ditions." 

Richard  looked  at  him  in  astonishment.  Had 
money  and  power  so  taken  a  hold  on  the  elder 
Chester  that  he  could  not  conceive  of  a  man  who 
would  not  submit  to  dictation! 

"  My  conditions  will  not  be  hard,"  said  John. 
"  You  will  be  under  my  orders  and  what  acquaint- 
ances you  have  made  in  this  submerged  year 
of  yours  must  never  know  who  you  were.  You 
start  de  novo,  or  better  still  you  eliminate  the  year. 
I  saw  by  a  paper  that  you  were  supposed  to  be 
travelling  in  Thibet.  Very  well,  you  were  in 
Thibet." 

"  Excellent,"  said  Richard  in  gentle  irony.  "  I 
see  exactly  what  to  do.  Those  friends  who 
helped  me  in  my  hard  year  must  be  forgot- 
ten." He  looked  at  John  as  though  in  doubt. 
"  I  wonder  if  you  will  approve  of  the  young 
woman  who  has  consented  to  be  Mrs.  Richard 
Chester." 

"  I  doubt  it,"  said  John  in  the  utmost  serious- 
ness. "  In  fact  I  think  some  arrangement  will 
have  to  be  made.  No  publicity,  you  understand, 
but  you  can  have  what  money  you  need.  Where 
are  you   going .^  "   he  demanded,   when   Richard 


378  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

grabbed  his  hat  and  rose  to  his  feet.  "  What  are 
you  doing?  " 

"  Thanking  Heaven,"  returned  Richard,  "  that 
I  remember  you  are  an  invalid  and  that  I  can 
curb  my  temper.  John,  I  never  wished  you  were 
a  big  husky  man  as  fervently  as  I  desire  it  now. 
But  since  you  are  an  invalid  I  must  content  my- 
self with  wishing  you  good  day." 

"  You  madman,"  cried  John,  white-faced  with 
anger,  "  do  you  know  what  you're  doing?  Do 
you  realize  that  you  are  throwing  away  millions? 
You've  heard  my  ultimatum!  " 

Richard  controlled  himself  with  difficulty.  The 
thought  that  the  other  had  suggested  that  Norah 
was  to  be  bought  off  had  made  him  furious. 
"  Damn  your  ultimatum!  "  he  cried  and  so  took 
his  leave. 


CHAPTER  XX 


IN    THE    BALANCE 


"  A  man's  nature  runs  to  herbs  or  weeds;  therefore,  let  him  rea- 
sonably water  the  one,  and  destroy  the  other."  —  Bacon. 

THE  months  which  followed  Richard's  in- 
terview with  his  brother  were  the  busiest 
of  his  life.  His  success  with  the  printing 
house,  while  not  so  phenomenal  as  his  first  week 
promised,  yet  allowed  him  to  save  a  considerable 
sum  of  money.  His  evenings  were  taken  up  with 
his  efforts  to  gain  an  assayer's  diploma  and  his 
Sundays  made  perfect  by  Norah's  company. 

The  placing  of  the  stock  of  the  North  Brazil 
Goldfield  on  the  market  was  delayed  for  many 
reasons,  not  the  least  of  them  being  Mendoza's 
continued  absence.  There  had  been  trouble  with 
the  new  cyanide  plant,  with  the  workers,  with  the 
weather,  with  everything,  but  at  last  the  thing 
was  floated  and  the  financial  and  other  papers 
with  columns  devoted  to  matters  financial  were 
informed  of  the  ground  floor  opening  they  were 
invited  to  share. 


380  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

A  couple  of  big  failures  and  the  rumor  that  an 
energetic  president  was  about  to  menace  great 
corporations  caused  an  uneasiness  in  Wall  Street 
which  was  reflected  by  the  operations  of  big  and 
little  investors.  A  leading  financial  publication 
pointed  out  that  the  Brazilian  goldfields  were 
worked  out.  And  the  men  whom  Norah  hoped 
to  attract  did  not  give  themselves  the  trouble  to 
examine  the  geography  of  the  old  Portuguese 
colony;  if  they  had  they  would  have  found  that 
the  State  in  which  the  North  Brazils  Goldfield 
was  situated  had  never  shown  either  success  or 
failure,  since  it  was  a  virgin  field.  Rumors  as  to 
the  gains  of  possible  investment  damned  the  thing 
from  the  start.  The  shares  were  subscribed  for 
with  irritating  slowness  and  in  this  Norah  beheld 
the  influence  of  her  declared  enemy. 

But  she  was  not  of  the  kind  to  give  up  hope 
and,  with  Chester,  still  had  dreams  of  the  under- 
taking of  a  future.  Perhaps  there  were  few  things 
which  gave  her  more  complete  gratification  than 
the  Sunday  Richard  brought  her  his  diploma. 
They  looked  at  the  document  with  its  important 
red  seal  in  triumph.  "  This  is  to  certify,"  she 
read  proudly,  "  that  Richard  Vincent  has  passed 
through  a  course  of  study  in  the  Assaying  and 


IN  THE  BALANCE  381 

estimation  of  minerals  for  Gold  and  Silver  by- 
fire  assay  from  all  classes  of  ores,  also  Gravimet- 
ric and  Volumetric  assay  of  Copper  from  its 
ore." 

"  Why  did  you  take  up  copper? "  she  de- 
manded. 

"  Alaska,"  he  told  her.  "  Before  I  knew  you 
I  had  dreams  of  Alaska  and  it's  the  richest  min- 
eral country  in  the  world.  It  has  a  copper  belt 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  square.  Supposing 
the  Brazil  scheme  doesn't  pan  out  and  Renalls 
downs  us,  I  shall  have  enough  to  take  us  out  there 
to  Alaska.  Would  you  come.'*  "  he  demanded  sud- 
denly. 

"  Do  you  suppose  for  a  single  moment,  you 
silly  boy,  that  I'm  going  to  let  you  out  of  my 
sight.'*"  she  asked.  "Of  course  I  shall  come  with 
you."  She  looked  at  him  anxiously.  "  Are  you 
afraid  we  are  going  to  lose.'*  " 

"  I  want  to  be  prepared  for  contingencies.  I 
saw  Mowbray  today,"  —  Mowbray  was  Norah's 
attorney,  — "  and  he  said  things  weren't  going 
well." 

"  He's  wrong,"  she  declared  serenely.  "  I  have 
plenty  of  resources  left.  And  don't  forget  that 
Mr.  Mendoza  gets  here  on  Tuesday.    I  have  told 


382  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

him  about  you  and  you'd  better  see  him  as  soon 
as  possible  and  bring  him  on  here." 

He  walked  to  his  rooms  —  now  no  longer  ill 
furnished  and  obscurely  situated  —  and  was  in- 
formed that  a  gentleman  had  called  to  see  him 
and  asked  permission  to  wait.  Since  the  gentle- 
man drove  up  in  a  great  limousine  car  with  a  man 
servant  and  peculation  seemed  out  of  the  question, 
he  was  allowed  to  remain  and  had  been  in  Ches- 
ter's apartment  for  half  an  hour. 

And  John  Chester  awaiting  him  had  not  come 
there  on  any  sudden  impulse.  Since  his  brother 
had  definitely  derided  his  offer  he  had  thought 
much  of  the  circumstances  of  the  original  quarrel. 
Richard  was  in  measure  to  blame,  as  he  was  com- 
pelled to  admit.  And  Marion  Griffiths  had  tol- 
erated him  only  because  he  was  Richard's  brother. 
There  was  never  a  faint  hope  that  she  might  care 
for  him.  Never  since  the  day  he  had  by  his  lying 
broken  off  the  match  had  he  known  happiness. 
His  heart  was  in  the  quiet  southern  cloister  de- 
spite the  mask  of  stoical,  cynical  indifference  he 
had  shown  these  many  years  to  his  world.  He  was 
going  down  to  the  unknown,  unloved  and  un- 
mourned.  And  as  he  slowly  set  his  house  in  order 
there  came  flocking  many  memories  of  the  days 


IN  THE  BALANCE  383 

when  Richard  was  his  adoring  brother  and  a  true 
love  existed  between  them. 

As  Richard  entered  the  room  he  looked  up 
wondering  what  reception  he  was  to  receive  from 
this  impetuous  Chester.  He  admitted  that  if  it 
was  not  cordial  it  was  courteous.  Richard's 
attitude  was  that  of  one  slight  acquaintance  to 
another. 

"  I'm  afraid  you've  been  kept  waiting  a  long 
while,"   he  said. 

"  You  are  surprised  I  am  here.'*  "  John  asked. 

"  I  can  think  of  no  good  purpose  being  served," 
Richard  said,  "  by  your  coming  to  see  me.  Our 
last  interview  was  not  pleasant  but  it  defined  a 
position  I  still  adhere  to." 

"  Is  it  such  an  insult  then  for  one  brother  to 
want  another  to  receive  his  money  ?  " 

"  We  are  not  brothers,"  Richard  said  slowly, 
"  not  brothers  in  spirit  or  sympathy.  I  can't 
conceive  of  any  silly  pride  entering  into  the  re- 
lations between  father  and  son  or  brother  and 
brother  when  they  are  fond  of  each  other.  There 
was  no  one  I  loved  more  than  my  father.  From 
him  I  would  have  accepted  anything.  And  if 
you  and  I  had  been  the  kind  of  brothers  he  hoped 
to  see  us  it  would  have  been  different.    But  we're 


384  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

not,  John.  We're  not  even  friends.  I  can't  ac- 
cept anything  from  you." 

John  did  not  speak  for  a  moment,  "  I've  been 
turning  out  old  letters  and  burning  them.  I  came 
across  the  first  letter  you  ever  wrote  to  me.  It 
was  after  I  gave  you  your  first  pony.  You  said  I 
was  the  best  brother  ever  known  and  you  would 
love  me  for  all  time." 

Richard  looked  at  him  gravely.  "  John,"  he 
said,  "  I  don't  like  now  when  you  are  ill  to  have  to 
say  it,  but  whose  fault  was  it  I  lost  my  love  for 
you  and  why  did  you  turn  from  being  my  good 
elder  brother  to  a  man  who  hated  me  f  " 

"  I  know,  I  know,"  said  the  older  man  wearily. 
"  I  lied  to  Marion.  I  wanted  to  win  what  I  did 
not  think  you  prized  enough.  It  was  a  black  thing 
to  do,  but  haven't  I  been  punished  .f*  I  married 
a  woman  who  played  fast  and  loose  with  my 
honor.  I  lost  my  boy  when  he  was  a  year  old,  and 
now  I'm  dying  of  agony.  Has  my  life  been  so 
happy,  then.?  " 

Richard  looked  at  him  in  a  kindlier  manner. 
"  You've  had  a  hard  time,  too." 

"  I  have  come,"  said  the  elder  brother,  "  to 
ask  your  forgiveness  for  the  wrong  I  did  you.  I 
shall  die  happier  if  I  have  it." 


IN  THE  BALANCE  385 

"  It's  yours,"  Richard  returned  gently.  "  Pm 
not  revengeful,  John.  I'm  too  happy  to  bear 
malice." 

John  looked  at  him  searchingly.  "  You'll  ac- 
cept my  proposition  now.?  " 

"  No,  no!  I've  told  you  why.  I'm  happy  and 
I'm  on  the  way  to  prosperity  and  I  have  my  own 
path  to  go  independently." 

"  Richard,"  said  the  invalid  with  a  voice  that 
shook,  "  I  came  to  ask  you  for  more  than  forgive- 
ness, but  you  make  it  very  hard  for  me."  He 
gazed  into  his  brother's  face  with  an  expression 
that  Richard  could  not  understand.  "  I'm  dying. 
There  may  be  three  months  or  there  may  be  three 
weeks  left  —  of  course  I  ought  not  to  be  here  — 
and  I  spend  the  twenty  hours  a  day  that  I'm  not 
under  morphine  thinking  about  what  my  failure 
of  a  life  has  been  and  what  sort  of  blackness  I'm 
going  to  find  when  it's  over.  Richard,  boy,  do 
you  think  I  want  to  die  without  your  love?  " 

He  broke  down  and  leaned  on  his  arms  and 
sobbed.  Immeasurably  affected,  the  younger 
man  knelt  at  his  side  and  put  a  strong  arm  about 
his  thin,  shaking  shoulders.  In  that  moment 
th-e  bitter  thoughts  cherished  for  so  many  years 
were    swept    away    and    he    saw    only    the    big 


386  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

brother  who  had  loved  him,  now  in  need  of  his 
help. 

"  My  dear  old  Jack,"  he  cried,  "  my  dear  old 
chap!  "  He  took  the  white  hand  and  pressed  it 
with  a  woman's  tenderness.  He  could  not  trust 
himself  to  speak  further.  The  spectacle  of  the 
haughty,  unbending  John  Chester  broken  down 
and  humbled  banished  on  the  instant  what  hard 
thoughts  he  had  harbored. 

Their  reconciliation,  disjointed  at  first  by  emo- 
tion, was  complete,  and  Richard  found  himself 
confiding  in  the  elder  and  the  elder,  proud  in  these 
confidences,  forgot  his  misery. 

But  it  was  still  with  a  certain  timidity  that 
John  spoke  of  his  brother's  marriage. 

"  I  want  to  meet  her,"  he  said.  "  I  want  at 
least  to  feel  that  there  are  people  whom  I  can 
care  for,  in  what's  left  of  my  life." 

Richard  from  a  locked  drawer  took  the  ex- 
quisite miniature.  "  Jack,"  he  said  impressively, 
"  I  have  shown  this  to  nobody  else.  It's  something 
I  hold  too  sacred  to  pass  around." 

"  She  is  very  beautiful,"  the  other  said  after 
looking  long  at  it. 

"  It  doesn't  do  her  justice,"  said  the  fond  lover; 
"  it's  well  done,  I  suppose,  but  she's  heaps  prettier 


IN  THE  BALANCE  387 

than  that."  He  smiled  a  little.  "  When  you 
meet  her  don't  say  anything  about  this.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  I  stole  it.  In  fact  it's  rather  diffi- 
cult to  explain,  but  she'll  expect  your  name  to  be 
Vincent  like  mine.  I  was  an  ass  to  be  ashamed  to 
work  except  under  an  assumed  name  but  it  was 
forced  upon  me,  as  I'll  tell  you  some  day."  He 
looked  at  the  invalid  anxiously.  You're  looking 
tired.  You  mustn't  stay  any  longer.  I'll  come  up 
tomorrow  evening  after  dinner  and  I'll  bring  her." 

There  were  no  happier  brothers  in  New  York 
that  night  than  the  Chesters.  John,  despite  his 
added  pain  and  the  reproaches  of  his  physician, 
who  upbraided  him  bitterly  for  his  rashness  in 
venturing  out,  felt  a  peace  that  he  had  not  known 
for  years.  And  Richard,  the  impetuous,  easily 
moved  through  sympathy,  assured  himself  that 
from  every  point  of  view  he  was  the  luckiest 
man  in  creation. 

He  was  chagrined  to  find  that  Norah  was  not 
free  to  go  with  him  to  his  brother's  hotel  on  Mon- 
day. She  was  dining  out  and  the  visit  would 
have  to  be  postponed.  He  reserved,  therefore, 
his  explanations,  as  better  told  face  to  face  than 
over  the  telephone.  She  was  glad  to  learn  that 
his  movements  on  the  following  day  would  de- 


388  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

pend  largely  on  the  time  of  Mendoza's  arrival. 
Of  late  she  had  been  vaguely  uneasy  about  her 
Brazilian  agent.  His  excuses  to  avoid  the  northern 
trip  did  not  seem  genuine  and  his  reports  had 
grown  less  and  less  satisfactory.  He  had  finally 
come  only  at  her  peremptory  commands  and  she 
had  grown  to  have  so  much  confidence  in  Richard 
that  she  wanted  his  opinion  of  this  man. 

The  Brazilian  had  not  been  half  an  hour  at  his 
hotel  when  Chester  asked  to  see  him.  The  bell 
boy  did  not  even  demand  his  card.  "  You're 
the  gentleman  he's  expecting.''"  he  asked  care- 
lessly. 

"  Yes,"  Chester  returned  promptly.  Norah 
had  prepared  the  way  for  him 

Mendoza  was  a  handsome,  portly  man  of  middle 
age.  He  was  well  dressed  and  wore  a  long  beard 
and  abounded  in  gestures  that  were  ample  and 
expressive.  He  shook  hands  with  the  character- 
istic grace  of  his  people.  "  I  have  been  expecting 
you,"  he  said.  "  In  confidence,  I  should  not  have 
taken  the  journey  for  any  other  reason." 

Chester  thanked  him  and  wondered  why  he 
seemed  so  obviously  ill  at  ease.  "  I  imagine," 
said  Mendoza,  "  that  very  little  explanation  is 
necessary  between  us.    Your  reputation  is  known 


IN  THE  BALANCE  389 

to  me  thoroughly,  and  I  am  not  unknown  to 
you." 

"  I've  heard  nothing  but  good  of  you,"  said 
Chester,  not  to  be  outdone  in  poUteness. 

"  I  am  exceedingly  sorry  to  have  to  do  this," 
said  the  other  with  an  expressive  shrug,  "  but  as 
you  know,  self-protection  is  nature's  first  law." 

"  Whatever  is  the  man  talking  about?  "  Ches- 
ter asked  himself.  "  I  don't  exactly  follow  you," 
he  said. 

"  I  am  only  thinking  that  my  motives  may  be 
distorted,"  explained  the  South  American.  "  But 
a  man  must  think  first  of  himself.  You,  sir,  have 
that  reputation." 

"  Who  gave  it  to  me.''  "  Chester  asked.  Norah 
could  not  possibly  have  advised  her  business  part- 
ner of  her  lover's  selfishness. 

"  Men  do  not  succeed  as  you  have  done  other- 
wise," Mendoza  remarked.  "  To  continue,  I  am 
a  man  of  the  South  with  the  love  for  gambling 
and  cards,  incomprehensible  to  you  colder  men 
of  the  North.  I  thought  I  had  conquered  it  but 
a  month  ago  at  Rio  I  lost  my  all.  Then  it  was  that 
after  refusing  to  treat  with  your  agent  I  wrote 
you.     You  understand  my  predicament." 

Chester  put  his  hand  to  his  head.     What  this 


390  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

suave  Brazilian  was  talking  about  was  beyond 
him.  "  What  do  you  tell  me  all  this  for?  "  he 
asked. 

"  I  owe  it  to  myself,"  the  other  said  with  a 
touch  of  theatricalism.  "  I  made  a  verbal  agree- 
ment with  her  not  to  dispose  of  my  stock  without 
her  written  consent.  And  as  I  know  she  has  no 
money  to  buy  me  out  I  must  accept  your  offer." 
He  looked  at  Chester  anxiously,  frightened  by  his 
silence  lest  the  deal  for  which  he  had  come  to 
New  York  was  not  to  be  consummated.  "  Surely, 
Mr.  Renalls,"  he  cried,  "  you  are  not  going  to 
fail  me.?" 

Chester  saw  in  a  flash  the  whole  traitorous  busi- 
ness. The  reputation  the  other  had  endowed  him 
with  belonged  to  the  Renalls  whom  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be,  the  man  he  was  expecting. 

"  I  do  business  in  my  own  way,"  Chester  said 
grimly,  apprehensive  that  the  real  Renalls  might 
appear.  He  seized  a  'phone  and  demanded  that 
a  taxicab  await  him  at  the  hotel  entrance  imme- 
diately. "  We'll  go  right  away  to  my  lawyer,"  he 
said. 

"  But  I  have  not  breakfasted  yet,"  Mendoza 
protested. 

"  Then  you  shall  breakfast  on  gold." 


IN  THE  BALANCE  391 

The  Brazilian  submitted  gracefully.  Such  curt 
answers  were  in  keeping  with  Renalls'  character 
and  the  sooner  the  business  could  be  concluded 
the  better.  "  Permit  me  to  get  my  hat  and  coat," 
he  said.  He  felt  a  certain  admiration  for  the 
hustling  ways  of  the  man  awaiting  him  in  the 
next  room,  who  called  up  two  men  and  made  ap- 
pointments within  the  minute.  One  message 
went  to  John  Chester.  The  other  gladdened  the 
ears  of  Wardour  Enderby,  who  was  told  to  lose 
no  time  in  seeking  the  great  hotel  wherein  the 
invalid  was  living.  He  replied  that  he  would  go 
as  fast  as  his  waiting  car  could  bring  him  there. 
When  Mendoza  reappeared  he  decided  that  the 
manners  of  that  eminent  financier  Charles  Renalls 
had  been  maligned.  He  found  a  cheerful,  courte- 
ous companion  who  took  him  to  a  suite  of  rooms 
so  gorgeous  that  the  exaggerated  stories  of  the 
Renalls  wealth  appeared  credible.  He  listened 
to  Chester's  explanation  that  he  was  pinched 
financially  and  was  to  transfer  the  whole  of  his 
stock  for  cash.  "  By  the  way,"  the  supposed 
Renalls  asked  him,  "  what  sum  did  we  arrange 
upon.?  " 

"  One  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,"  re- 
turned he,  "  and  this,  with  your  own  holding,  gives 


392  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

you  absolute  control.  I  shall  be  sorry  sometimes 
when  I  think  of  this,"  again  the  expressive  shrug, 
"  but  a  man  must  think  of  himself  first." 

"  There's  one  matter  I  might  explain,"  Chester 
said.  "  I  am  not  Charles  Renalls  but  Richard 
Chester.  Keep  still,"  he  urged  at  the  alarm  ap- 
pearing on  the  other's  face,  "  it  won't  affect  you. 
I  have  the  cash  and  Mr.  Enderby  will  arrange 
everything." 

"  I  have  been  deceived,"  cried  Mendoza. 

Chester  spoke  temperately.  His  manner  in- 
stantly reassured  the  other.  "  Accidentally  I  as- 
sure you,"  he  said.  "  You  assumed  that  I  was 
Renalls  and  told  me  everything  before  I  could 
stop  you.  If  you  want  the  money  you  can  have 
it  instantly.  And  there's  another  thing  that 
would  make  you  glad  of  the  mistake.  I  am  a 
friend  of  Miss  Ellis  and  not  an  enemy.  As  a 
gentleman,"  Mendoza  bowed,  "  you  will  be  glad 
of  that." 

"  Sir,"  he  said  grandiloquently,  "  it  is  enough. 
Between  gentlemen,  all  is  understood.  I  have 
explained  that  I  need  money  and  I  would  rather 
have  yours  than  his."  His  eyes  flashed.  "  He 
sent  an  agent  to  me  who  treated  me  as  a  dog." 
He  looked  from  one  to  the  other.     "  It  must  be 


IN  THE  BALANCE  393 

settled  at  once."  Wardour  Enderby  rose  from  his 
seat.  "  It  shall,"  he  said.  "  My  car  is  outside 
and  we  will  seek  your  man  of  business  instantly." 
Mendoza  bowed  with  the  perfection  of  courtesy. 

"  One  moment,  Mr.  Mendoza,"  Chester  asked. 
"  I  suppose  what  you  said  about  Renalls  having 
control  was  true?" 

"  Most  certainly,"  Mendoza  returned. 

"  And  what  was  he  going  to  do.?  " 

"  It  was  all  explained  to  me,"  the  South  Amer- 
ican answered  airily.  "  He  was  going  to  plunge 
the  concern  into  bankruptcy  and  then,  I  think 
your  expressive  phrase  is,  '  freeze  out '  the  other 
shareholders."  He  bowed  again  jauntily  and  fol- 
lowed Enderby  out  of  the  room. 

"  I  notice  you  didn't  take  his  hand,"  said  John 
Chester,  looking  at  his  brother  keenly.     "  Why.''  " 

"  Because  tomorrow  I  shall  take  a  malacca  cane 
and  give  him  the  darnedest  licking  he's  ever  heard 
of,"  Richard  cried  with  flaming  eyes.  "  John, 
he's  the  biggest  traitor  who  ever  lived.  She  for- 
gave him  once  when  he  stole  the  mine  money  and 
played  it  away  over  the  roulette  wheel,  and  now  in 
her  hour  of  need  she  was  to  be  sold  to  her  enemy. 
I  could  hardly  keep  my  hands  off  that  oily  black 
beard." 


394  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

He  lit  a  cigarette  with  fingers  that  trembled 
with  passion  and  sat  silent  for  a  moment.  Then 
he  looked  over  at  his  brother  and  smiled.  "  By 
the  way,"  he  said,  "  you  don't  know  what  you've 
spent  all  that  money  for.  I  never  thought  of  that. 
I  was  so  savagely  angry  that  I  forgot  that  you 
don't  know  the  first  thing  about  it.  You  just 
shelled  out  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  of  your 
money  —  " 

John  interrupted  him.  "  Our  money,"  he  cor- 
rected gently.  "  After  Sunday  night  it  was  our 
money,   Dick." 

Richard  sighed  with  satisfaction.  "  If  you 
only  knew  how  happy  you've  made  me." 

John  looked  at  him  with  a  whimsical  smile. 
"  If  you'd  only  tell  me  what  it's  all  about,"  he 
said,  "  I  could  share  your  happiness  better." 
John  listened  to  the  long  involved  story  with 
great  interest.  "  It  was  the  luckiest  thing  I  ever 
heard  of,"  he  declared.  "  Renalls  would  have 
done  what  he  liked  with  you,  broken  you,  bank- 
rupted you,  laughed  at  you.  I  know  his  way  of 
fighting.  If  you  want  to  do  me  a  good  turn,  Dick, 
you  must  let  me  come  in  on  this  mine."  His  eyes 
brightened;  he  had  the  Chester  love  of  fighting. 
"  It  will  do  me  good  to  straighten  it  out,"  he 


IN  THE  BALANCE  395 

chuckled.  "  I  foresee  a  pretty  little  conflict  with 
our  friend  Renalls.  He  holds  on  to  things  like  a 
bulldog  and  he  has  no  liking  for  me  either.  When 
do  you  see  Miss  Ellis  again?  " 

"  Thursday  evening,"  returned  the  happy  Rich- 
ard. "  She's  at  Lakewood  with  Mrs.  Monmouth 
till  then." 

"  Can't  you  persuade  her  to  come  in  here  and 
see  her  cantankerous,  broken-down  brother-in-law 
to  be?  "    He  asked  it  almost  timidly. 

Richard  laughed  to  hide  his  emotion.  "  Do 
you  think  I'm  going  to  let  go  of  you  any  more?  " 
he  asked. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


RENALLS     DEFEAT 


"  Hee  that  holds  his  sweet-hart  true  unto  his  day  of  dying, 
Lives  of  all  that  ever  breathed  most  worthy  the  envying." 
—  Dr.  Thomas  Campion,  1617. 

RICHARD  had  made  up  his  mind  that  on 
the  Thursday  evening  he  would  have  to 
tell  Norah  much  that  he  had  kept  from 
her.  The  reconciliation  with  his  brother  would 
necessitate  this  and  he  had  long  felt  it  irksome  to 
hold  back  so  much. 

He  found  her  looking  all  the  lovelier  for  her 
Lakewood  visit.  It  was  a  cold  April  evening  and 
there  was  an  open  fire  of  cedar  logs  blazing  cheer- 
ily. From  his  pocket  he  took  a  long  envelope 
containing  the  share  transfer  and  put  it  on  the 
mantelpiece. 

"  What  Is  it.''  "  she  demanded. 

"  A  wedding  present,"  he  answered  her,  "  a 
package  containing  thwarted  revenge,  lover's 
luck  and  a  happy  issue  out  of  all  our  trouble." 

"  Sometimes  I  think  you're  absolutely  crazy," 
she  laughed. 


RENALLS'  DEFEAT  397 

"  Sometimes  I  am,"  he  said.  "  I  went  hope- 
lessly mad  on  Sunday  evening  and  I'm  going  to 
tell  you  all  about  it.  Sit  down  at  my  feet  like  an 
obedient  child  and  I'll  make  a  general  and  par- 
ticular confession  of  my  life  —  with  one  incident 
excepted  —  from  infancy  up  to  the  present  mo- 
ment." It  was  a  favorite  attitude  of  the  girl's 
to  sit  on  a  low  ottoman  or  cushion  at  his  feet 
while  he  sat  in  one  of  the  great  luxurious  chairs. 

"  Now,"  she  said,  her  hands  clasping  her  knees, 
and  gazing  into  the  changing  flames,  "  now  I'm 
ready." 

He  kissed  the  tips  of  her  little  ears  and  the 
waving  tendrils  of  hair.  "  The  fire  makes  your 
hair  all  red  gold,"  he  said.  "  My  dear,  I  am  the 
happiest  mortal  who  ever  lived." 

"  Is  that  your  confession.''  "  she  laughed. 

"  That's  my  boast,"  he  retorted.  "  I  shall  now 
proceed  to  set  forth  the  failures  and  successes  of 
a  career  which  has  up  to  the  present  not  been  too 
well  employed."  He  listened  for  a  moment. 
"  What's  that.?  "  The  door  was  thrown  open 
and  a  servant  announced,  "  Mr.  Charles  Renalls." 
The  financier  had  bought  his  way  in. 

"  A  very  pretty  picture,"  he  observed.  "  Pray 
don't  move." 


398  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

Norah  rose  to  her  feet  and  looked  at  him  inter- 
rogatively. "  I  thought  you  were  not  coming 
here  again,"  she  said  stiffly. 

"  If  you  remember  our  talk  in  Jamaica,"  he 
returned,  ignoring  Chester,  "  you  will  not  have 
forgotten  that  I  promised  to  come  —  " 

She  interrupted  him  impatiently.  "  You  made 
a  number  of  stupid,  veiled  threats  which  have 
not  been  fulfilled." 

"  You  think  not.?  "  he  said.  "  Well,  we'll  talk 
of  that  later.    How  goes  the  stock.?  " 

"  I  only  got  back  from  Lakewood  an  hour  or 
so  ago,"  she  answered.  "  I  have  not  seen  my 
lawyers  or  brokers  yet.     Why.?  " 

"  I  am  interested,"  he  returned.  "  I've  come  here 
to  acknowledge  my  defeat." 

"  Your  defeat.?  "  she  queried. 

He  nodded.  "  My  defeat.  Mendoza  sold  you 
to  me  and  but  for  the  fact  of  a  stalled  train  on 
the  subway  I  should  have  had  the  North  Brazils 
Goldfield  all  my  own  by  now.  When  I  got  to 
Mendoza's  hotel  he  wasn't  there.  He's  sold  out 
to  some  other  man.    I  know  the  man." 

She  looked  at  Chester  in  amazement  and  de- 
spair. Mendoza's  sale  would  probably  affect  her 
success.    "  Do  you  think  it's  true.?  "  she  said. 


RENALLS'  DEFEAT  399 

He  reached  down  the  envelope  from  the  mantel. 
"  Open  it,"  he  said  quietly,  "  and  remember  what 
Itold  you  it  contained." 

She  looked  at  the  contents  bewildered.  She 
could  see  that  an  enormous  number  of  shares 
had  been  transferred  to  her,  an  amount  which 
with  her  present  holding  gave  her  undisputed 
control. 

"  What  does  it  mean?  "  she  asked  helplessly. 

"  It's  a  wedding  present,"  Chester  said.  "  Mr. 
Renalls  has  assured  you  it  is  his  thwarted  revenge." 
He  turned  to  the  financier.  "  I  really  cannot  see 
why  you  should  come  here,  sir." 

There  were  many  explanations  which  he  must 
instantly  make  to  the  girl  and  the  presence  of 
this  black,  scowling  man  was  an  affront. 

"  By  what  right  do  you  say  that.^*  "  the  finan- 
cier demanded. 

"  By  the  right  of  the  man  she  is  to  marry,"  he 
returned  steadily. 

Renalls  laughed  aloud.  "  Oh,  no!  "  he  cried, 
"  she  won't  marry  you." 

"  Mr.    Renalls,"    cried    the    girl    imperiously, 
"  you've  long  outworn  your  welcome;  please  go." 

"  So  you're  afraid  at  last,  are  you.'*  "  he  sneered. 
**  You  know  I  should  not  come  here  to  admit  my 


400  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

defeat  if  I  hadn't  some  other  purpose.  I  want 
you  to  remember  whose  daughter  you  are  and 
send  him  away  before  it  is  too  late.  Remember 
what  I  told  you  about  him!  Well,  I've  found  out 
other  things  too.  He's  posing  under  a  false  name 
even  now.    Ask  him  if  he  isn't." 

She  looked  at  him  with  increasing  amazement. 
His  manoeuvres  seemed  so  hopelessly  clumsy, 
so  obviously  the  jealous  ravings  of  a  beaten  man. 
She  was  forced  to  entertain  doubts  as  to  his 
sanity. 

"  He's  been  lying  to  you  all  along,  Norah," 
he  cried,  "  he's  been  posing  to  you  as  a  single 
man.  Norah,  he's  married  and  I've  got  the  proofs 
of  it." 

There  had  never  in  all  the  course  of  her  life 
come  to  her  such  an  accession  of  anger.  She 
faced  him  white-faced.  "  How  I  loathe  you,"  she 
cried,  "  how  I  hate  you!  " 

"Ask  him,"  Renalls  said  doggedly.  "All  I 
want,  is  for  you  to  force  him  to  speak.  Do  you 
think  I  should  be  such  a  fool  as  to  come  in  here 
without  any  evidence.''  At  least  give  me  credit 
for  some  sense.  I  tell  you  he  is  a  married  man 
posing  to  you  as  single.  Ask  him  why  he  waits 
till  you're  nearly  down  and  out  before  stepping 


RENALLS'  DEFEAT  401 

In  and  making  you  such  a  present.  Isn't  there 
any  instinct  to  warn  you  against  men  like  that? 
Norah,  he  belongs  to  one  of  the  wealthiest  families 
in  the  country  and  there  isn't  a  wish  he  couldn't 
gratify." 

She  pointed  to  the  door,  "  Must  I  have  you 
thrown  out?  " 

Renalls  spoke  in  a  quieter  tone.  "  I  said  when 
you  were  in  the  dust  I  would  come  for  you. 
You're  in  the  dust  now,  Norah.  You've  lost  more 
than  money,  you've  lost  faith  in  the  man  you 
loved.    I'm  waiting  for  you,  my  dear." 

She  looked  at  him  with  a  scorn  that  hurt.  "  As 
if  you  could  love!  "  she  said. 

"  Be  fair,"  he  pleaded.  "  Be  fair  to  me  as  well 
as  yourself.    Ask  him." 

She  turned  her  back  upon  Renalls  and  walked 
to  Chester's  side  and  put  her  hands  on  his  shoulder 
and  looked  into  his  face  with  eyes  of  trust  and 
love.  "  Dear,"  she  asked  slowly,  "  tell  him. 
Are  you  a  married  man?  " 

Chester  was  filled  with  poignant  emotion. 
There  must  come  to  her  a  moment  of  suffering 
before  she  could  know  the  truth.  What  had  to 
be  revealed  must  not  take  place  before  the  in- 
truder. 


402  ALL  THE  WORLD  TO  NOTHING 

"  Yes,"  he  made  answer,  "  I  am." 

"  Is  this  the  time  to  jest?  "  she  said,  half  in 
reproach. 

"  It's  dead  earnest,"  exclaimed  the  financier. 
"  He  has  sense  enough  to  see  the  game  is  up." 
He  looked  at  the  girl  in  pity.  "  I  wish  I  could 
have  spared  you  this." 

She  held  her  hands  to  her  heart.  Slowly  it  was 
borne  in  upon  her  that  her  enemy  was  right  and 
she  was  indeed  in  the  dust,  broken  and  without 
hope.  She  turned  slowly  to  Renalls.  "  There 
are  things  I  must  say  to  him  which  I  do  not  want 
you  to  hear.  Please  go.  Isn't  it  enough  to  know 
that  my  heart  is  broken  ?  " 

When  he  had  closed  the  door  softly  behind  him, 
she  sank  in  a  chair  and  covered  her  face  with  her 
white  hands.  She  could  not  bear  to  look  Richard 
in  the  eyes  yet.  Although  in  this  bitter  hour  she 
knew  that  she  still  loved  him  she  knew  this  mon- 
strous deception  must  part  them  eternally.  She 
did  not  see  the  love  and  trust  in  his  face,  the 
steadfast  light  which  would  have  warned  her  that 
she  was  the  victim  of  a  misunderstanding. 

Presently  she  was  more  mistress  of  herself 
and  looked  at  him  wearily.  If  only  there  might 
be  some  trivial  circumstances  which  would  allow 


RENALLS'  DEFEAT  403 

her  in  the  dark  years  to  believe  that  he  had  in 
reality  loved  her. 

"Haven't  you  anything  to  say?"  she  asked, 
dully. 

"  Is  love  so  blind.''  "  he  said,  softly. 

She  looked  at  him  with  beating  heart.  "  What 
do  you  mean?"  she  cried.  From  his  pocket  he 
took  a  gold  oval  frame  from  which  her  painted 
face  stared  back  at  her. 

She  looked  at  it  a  moment  blankly  and  then 
some  blessed  consciousness  stirred  in  her  and  un- 
ravelled the  twisted  skeins  and  made  plain  what 
seemed  so  bewildering,  and  she  knew  that  here 
was  her  husband. 


THE    END. 


A     000  127  674     o 


